If you haven’t made a visit to one of the Alabama communities hit hardest by the April tornadoes—Tuscaloosa, for example, or Pratt City, or Pleasant Grove, or the small Jefferson County town of Concord—it may be impossible for you to visualize the terrifying tracks the storms left behind.

IT’S ALL DIFFERENT AFTER 4-27-11: Like many people affected by the tornadoes that struck Alabama in April, 21-year-old Angelleah Markham of Hackleburg professes to have undergone a sort of personal transformation.

As I write this, it’s been four weeks to the day since Alabama was hammered by a record-setting tornado outbreak. It’s an event that many of us, even those whose homes or families were not directly affected, are still trying to cope with—emotionally, psychologically, even spiritually.

THINKING OF JOPLIN: The tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., May 22 was probably an EF4 with winds nearing 200 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

DECLARING DISASTER: People in 42 counties in Alabama are now eligible for federal disaster assistance to individuals, households and businesses, according to a news release May 9 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA).

LEGISLATIVE GREEN UPDATE: We welcome Adam Snyder of Conservation Alabama for his biweekly update of the status of ecorelated bills under consideration in the Alabama legislature:

As I write this, it has been exactly one week since Alabama was left bruised and bleeding by one of the most vicious clusters of tornadoes ever recorded in the United States. Over the last seven days, I have felt—along with sadness for those who were lost, or who lost everything— a few overwhelming emotions.

STORM BY THE NUMBERS: The series of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms that ravaged the South last week has claimed at least 328 lives as of May 4, according to press reports. That makes this storm cycle the second deadliest outbreak in U.S. history. Seven states—Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee—were affected.

LEGISLATIVE GREEN UPDATE: We welcome Adam Snyder of Conservation Alabama for his biweekly update of the status of eco-related bills under consideration in the Alabama legislature

EARTH DAY: Join us for a quick look around the country and around the world as we catalog some of the interesting things going on during Earth Week 2011 and beyond.