South
Tornado Alley shifts to the Southeast, storm shelters become more popular
More tornadoes in the Southeast put more population centers in the bullseye of what some researchers are calling a new Tornado Alley.
A study posted on the American Meteorological Society’s website found that tornadic activity in the Great Plains decreased by 25% in the last 35 years compared to the 35 years prior. In the same timeframe, tornadic activity jumped 12% in the Southeast.
Parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky were among the states that have experienced more tornadoes, according to the study.
A report posted to the American Meteorological Society’s website found that tornadic activity in the Great Plains decreased by 25% in the last 35 years compared to the 35 years prior. In the same timeframe, tornadic activity jumped 12% in the Southeast. (Fox News)
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Mark Brasfield, Nashville Safe House Owner, said he’s sold thousands of storm shelters in his 33 years of selling them. He said he’d never seen intense demand in the Southeast until recently. Brasfield estimated his phone rings at least 20 times a day with people looking to buy storm shelters.
“It’s like insurance. You don’t think you’re ever going to have to use it, but if you need it, you got it,” Brasfield said.
Brasfield said his shelters are compliant with the standards set in place by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A quarter inch of steel, reinforced walls and a dozen six-inch bolts help make Brasfield’s shelters withstand the 200-mph winds of an EF-5 tornado.
A dozen six-inch bolts, a quarter inch of steel and reinforced walls help allow some storm shelters to withstand winds of 200 mph. (Fox News)
“You get someone that moves here from a state that’s never had tornadoes. They are scared to death,” Brasfield said.
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Lawrence Behrs moved from California to Tennessee 10 years ago. He said he and his wife traded earthquakes and wildfires for tornadoes.
“We looked at maps and said, ‘okay, well, where could we move? Where would we be completely safe?’ And I just don’t think that exists anywhere,” Behrs said.
In December, Berhs finally decided to buy one of Brasfield’s family-sized storm shelters. He said it was installed in January, just in time for what he described as an already active tornado season in his area.
“With the increase in the occurrence of tornadoes and seemingly moving, you know, eastward from Tornado Alley, we decided that it would be a good investment for peace of mind,” Berhs said.
A 4’x8′ at-home tornado shelter is big enough to hold four adults. (Fox News)
The National Weather Service in Nashville has already issued 14 tornado warnings this year in their jurisdiction.
When his weather radio tells him that he and his wife are under a tornado warning, Berhs said they scramble to the storm shelter with a “go bag.” The shelter is bolted to his garage floor, steps away from his home.
“Heaven forbid that there’s a really serious tornado, but I have had visions of, you know, being in here, coming out of, you know, out of the shelter after a storm, and it’s the only thing standing, but hopefully that’ll never be a reality,” Berhs said.
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The United States gets an average of 1,425 tornadoes per year, according to numbers provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Nearly half of those tornadoes hit from April to June.
It became Dallas County’s new, contemporary facility to house accused criminals in 1993. Today, close to 7,000 men and women each day either serve time, wait for trials, or transfer to state prison inside the county’s Lew Sterrett jail.
The elected leader of county government, Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins, says it’s time for a new facility — and it will cost billions to build it.
“We’ve got to begin planning and doing the work, because we can’t wait until this jail is absolutely just failing,” said Jenkins.
Expansion and development in and around downtown Dallas have the county keeping quiet about future locations.
“So we are looking at sites, and I think we’ll have land purchased this year,” Jenkins said. “And a land purchase in the relative scheme of things is a very insignificant financial amount of this.
“When I’m talking about starting on planning and building of a jail, I’m talking about something that will open perhaps 8 or 9 or even ten years from now.”
To complete a new facility in 10 years, Jenkins said the costs will be in the billions, based on a desire to build a jail that offers mental health and substance abuse treatment, trying to end the cycle of folks filling the jail, arrested over and over again for non-violent crimes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Anthony Edwards is now available to play in Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat after originally being listed as questionable with right foot injury maintenance.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Tyler Herro: Available – Toe
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Out – Ankle
Nikola Jovic: Available – Groin
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
TIMBERWOLVES
Anthony Edwards: Available – Foot
Terrence Shannon Jr.: Out – Foot
Joan Beringer: Out – G League
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. EST, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: TV: Peacock,
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 100.3 FM (Minnesota)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (20-16) and Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13) meet for the second and final regular season matchup after just facing off three days ago with Minnesota recording a, 125-115, win in Miami on January 3. The teams split the series, 1-1, last season with each squad winning on the road. The Heat are 36-35 all-time versus Minnesota during the regular season,
including 19-16 in home games and 17-19 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Norman Powell
F Andrew Wiggins
TIMBERWOLVES
G Donte DiVincenzo
G Anthony Edwards
C Rudy Gobert
F Jaden McDaniels
F Julius Randle
Spread: Heat +5.5 (-112), Timberwolves -5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: Heat +166, Timberwolves -198
Total points scored: 239.5 (over -106, under -114)
QUOTABLE
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the forced turnovers: “That is and has to be our identity. We have to play with a recklessness and activity level that exceeds our opponent, and thats not to put down our talent level or anything like that, it’s more about we look different when we’re flying around and making plays and making it tough for the opponent.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ATLANTA – New leadership is taking the helm at Atlanta City Hall as Council President Marci Collier Overstreet begins her term with a fresh slate of committee assignments for the new year.
Why you should care:
The appointments come at a high-stakes moment for the city’s chief policy-making board. Atlanta is preparing for a global spotlight in 2026, serving as a host city for the FIFA World Cup and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl College Football Playoff game.
What we know:
While Collier Overstreet reshuffled most of the council’s leadership, the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee remains under the direction of District 10 Councilwoman Andrea Boone. The influential committee oversees the police and fire departments, the Law Department and the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
The remaining committee chairs for 2026 include:
- City Utilities: District 9 Councilman Dustin Hillis will oversee solid waste, sanitation, watershed and public works.
- Community Development and Human Services: Post 2 At-Large Councilman Matt Westmoreland will preside over parks and recreation, the Atlanta Housing Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Film, Entertainment and Nightlife.
- Transportation: District 6 Councilman Alex Wan will lead the committee dealing with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, MARTA and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
- Zoning: District 8 Councilwoman Mary Norwood will handle matters related to subdivisions, zoning and sign ordinances.
- Finance/Executive: District 1 Councilman Jason Winston will oversee contract compliance, human resources, finance and procurement.
- Committee on Council: District 3 Councilman Byron Amos will chair the committee presiding over council operations, the Office of Research and Policy and the Office of the Municipal Clerk.
The new president expressed confidence that this leadership team would ensure the city’s future remains inclusive.
The Source: This is a FOX 5 original report from Aungelique Proctor.
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