<P> During El Niño, Alabama receives colder than average winter temperatures with wetter than average conditions along the southern parts of the state and drier than average conditions in the northern parts . La Niña brings warmer than average temperatures with the drier weather in the southern parts of the state due to a northern storm track . </P> <P> Alabama is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes . Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken . Thunderstorms are common during the summer throughout Alabama and also occur during other times of the year including winter . South Alabama reports many thunderstorms . The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 100 and 110 days per year with thunder reported, which eastern and northwest Alabama have 70 to 80 thunderstorm days per year . Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequent lightning and large hail--the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm . Alabama ranks seventh in the number of deaths from lightning and ninth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita . </P> <P> Sometimes tornadoes occur--these are common throughout the state, although the peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state . Alabama, along with Kansas, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes than any other state--according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to October 31, 2006 . An F5 tornado is the most powerful of its kind . Several long--tracked F5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state except for Texas and Mississippi . The Super Outbreaks of April 1974 and April 2011 both badly affected Alabama . The northern part of the state--along the Tennessee Valley--is one of the areas in the US most vulnerable to violent tornadoes . The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains . Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season (November and December) along with the spring severe weather season . </P>

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