A History of Alabama's Deadliest Tornadoes

Disaster in Dixie

By Kelly Kazek

2010

First Published

3.74

Average Rating

130

Number of Pages

3H58M

Audio Length

Journey just west of America's infamous Tornado Alley to Alabama, home to some of the deadliest tornadoes of the past century. These twisters remain etched in the collective memory of the people, from the 1908 Dixie Tornado, regarded as one of the most brutal tornadoes in U.S. history, to the 1998 Birmingham Tornado, the most expensive twister in Alabama's history. Discover how the 1932 Deep South Tornadoes resulted in 268 fatalities and millions of dollars in damage, and read the terrifying account of the 1977 Smithfield Tornadoes, which rocked this Birmingham suburb with as many as six twisters in a one-hour span. Join local journalist Kelly Kazek as she shares the tales of these natural disasters and the hardy Alabamians who endured them.

Avg Rating

3.74

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

33%

4 STARS

30%

3 STARS

22%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Kelly Kazek

Author · 7 books

Kelly Kazek, born in Georgia and raised in Alabama, is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about Southern culture for It’s a Southern Thing. She now writes only books but in her 36-year career in journalism, she was an editor, columnist, and reporter. She is the author of numerous children’s picture books for It’s a Southern Thing, including "Y is for Y’all: A Book of Southern ABCs" and "Mo Possum is Awesome." She has also authored the "Southern Thesaurus," the "Southern Handbook" (to be released July 2023 at store.southernthing.com), two collections of humorous essays, and numerous books of regional history. In 2022, she received the top award for humor writing by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In April 2023, she was honored, along with the illustrators, by the BookFest Awards for her books "The Sun Has Gone to Bed," "Wander Over Yonder: A Journey-Through-the-South Book," and "Southern Thesaurus." She lives near Huntsville, Alabama. To invite her to speak or host a book signing, contact her at kkazek@southernthing.com or find more info at kellykazek@kellykazek.com.