I recall many years ago in a college geography class, the professor mentioned that a strip across Northern Mississippi and Alabama gets some of the most powerful tornadoes in the world.
There was a reason for it but can't remember what it was.
I live in N. AL and we have had 2 real doozies of storms. The one in 1974 destroyed a trailer park. We watched on tv when they were being formed. None of the tv stations had radar or generators. After that storm, all have both. In fact, the 3 main networks stay on the air full time when a storm threatens this area. Some complain about missing favorite tv shows but I think it is more important to know when to take cover.
The one in 1989 hit about a mile from here. My husband was coming home from work and just as he went under a traffic light, all electricity was lost in that area. My former choir director was in a store and it was nearly destroyed and the clock stopped about 4:39. I have never seen such damage. Most of a shopping center was hit and one building was totally destroyed. Cars were piled on top of others, trees were down, homes were destroyed, a school was hit but the kids inside were ok. Checks from here were found in eastern TN.