ATLANTA -- The devastating force of tornadoes seem to hit Atlanta more than any other part of the state. Is your county a tornado “hot spot” or is it just bad luck? Researchers look for answers.

Home video of a tornado in Mac Wood’s front yard is certainly unusual – it struck in January, 2006. It also struck a part of Georgia unaccustomed to twisters -- only 5 in Pike County since 1950 according to the National Weather Service.

A little north, just a few counties away, it’s a very different picture. DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties have twice as many – Cobb and Fulton have more than 20 each.

The number of tornadoes reported is highly related to population density. David Stooksbury is the state climatologist. He says the statistics rely largely on old-fashioned eyewitness accounts. Areas with more reported tornadoes may just have more witnesses.

“If a tornado strikes in metropolitan Atlanta, somebody is going to report it. It’s gonna hit somebody,” Stooksbury explains.

Cherokee County’s population is booming – and the tornado count is one of the highest in Georgia -- so many tornadoes that Cherokee has requested more tornado warning sirens than any other county in the state.

“We have had a significant number of tornadoes over the years and we know the potential is there to have more and we just need to prepare our citizens for that,” says Cherokee County Emergency Management Director, Robby Westbrook.

Cities and counties across the state have requested a total of 345 sirens from GEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Fund – many of them in the metro area – 18 for Cobb, 22 for Carroll and a total of 31 for Cherokee.

Westbrook says they could use even more.

“We have outdoor warning sirens in Cherokee County, but we’ll never have enough for everyone in the county to hear those sirens – particularly in the middle of the night.

Westbrook and Stooksbury agree that people shouldn’t rely on sirens alone to warn them of dangerous severe weather.

“The purpose of those tornado sirens is for people who are working outdoors, those who are playing outdoors or are gonna be away from TV’s or radios. The best defense really is to have a NOAA weather radio,” says Stooksbury.

The radios can be programmed to alert you for warnings in your county and surrounding areas – a good idea, since tornadoes pay no attention to county lines.

Westbrook has been studying tornado data for the county going back to 1875. He has a map that details the path of destruction for each one. Nearly all follow a southwest to northeast route, including one from March 27, 1994. Forty-two people died in the aftermath of a tornado “supercell” that tore across Alabama and Georgia.

Westbrook’s map shows two tornadoes moving against the pattern – spawned from tropical storms in the aftermath of hurricanes – including Ivan.

As Cherokee County grows, Westbrook says learning from the past should help protect residents in the future.

“In 1884 when a tornado came through, it was forest and farmland. Today, if a tornado came through, it’s apartment buildings and homes,” says Westbrook.