Huntsville

Huntsville, Alabama

In the American state of Alabama, the city of Huntsville is located in the counties of Madison, Limestone, and Morgan. It serves as Madison County's County seat. The most populated city in Alabama is Huntsville, which is situated in the Appalachian region of the north.

Incorporated in 1811, Huntsville was established in the Mississippi Territory in 1805. Huntsville was first chosen as the state capital of Alabama when it was accepted as a state in 1819, but it was later transferred to a more central location. North of the Tennessee River, the city grew across surrounding hills, and in the late nineteenth century, textile factories were added.

Since World War II, it has experienced significant expansion. The Army built Redstone Arsenal nearby during the war, complete with a chemical weapons plant and other surrounding associated facilities. Redstone Arsenal continued to study rockets after the war and then developed modifications for space travel. The neighboring Redstone Arsenal is now home to the FBI's operations support headquarters, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command, and most recently, the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command. Huntsville was listed in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of "America's Twelve Distinctive Places for 2010".

According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 215,006, making it the most populated city in Alabama. The five-county Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area includes Huntsville as its largest city. The Huntsville metropolitan region's population was 491,723 in 2020, making it the second most populated metropolitan area in the state behind the Birmingham metropolitan area.

Geography

A total of 220.9 square miles (572.0 km2) of land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), or 0.68%, of water make up the city's total area. In the early 2000s, Huntsville expanded by annexing Limestone County to the west, covering a total of 21.5 square miles (56 km2) (13,885 acres (5,619 ha), and Morgan County to the south, covering a total of 1.03 square miles (2.67 km2) (659.1 acres (266.73 ha) in 2018.

Huntsville, which is located in the basin of the Tennessee River, is partly encircled by a number of plateaus and sizable hills. These plateaus, which are known as "mountains" locally, are connected to the Cumberland Plateau. Together with Round Top (Burritt), Chapman, Huntsville, and Green mountains, the most prominent is Monte Sano Mountain, which is also known as the "Mountain of Health" and is located east of the city. The Weeden and Madkin mountains on the Redstone Arsenal site are another, as are Wade Mountain to the north, Rainbow Mountain to the west, and Weeden Mountain to the south. Over the Tennessee River towards the south, Brindley Mountain may be seen.

The terrain in the area of Huntsville is karst in nature, like other regions along the Cumberland Plateau. The Great Spring, a typical karst spring, served as the center of the city's founding. As is typical in karst regions, many caverns pierce the limestone bedrock beneath the earth's surface. Huntsville serves as the national headquarters of the Speleological Society.

Climate

A humid subtropical climate (Köppen climatic classification Cfa) prevails in Huntsville. With average high temperatures ranging from close to 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer to 49 °F (9.4 °C) in the winter, it has hot, humid summers and typically moderate winters.

The mid-South region of the United States, including Huntsville, experiences its wettest seasons in the winter and spring rather than the summer. More than 54 inches of precipitation fall each year on average. The wettest month on average is December, but Huntsville experiences a protracted wetter season from November through May, with each of those months seeing (on average) nearly or over 5 inches of precipitation. August to October constitute slightly drier months on average (see climate chart, showing less than 3.6 inches of precipitation these months). There can be droughts, usually from August to October, but there is typically enough rain to keep the soils moist and the plants lush. Thunderstorms are largely responsible for Huntsville's precipitation. The spring and late fall months are when thunderstorms occur most frequently and with the greatest severity. These storms have the potential to produce tornadoes, strong straight-line winds, and huge hail. The area around Huntsville is referred to as Dixie Alley and is more prone to strong, long-track tornadoes than most other areas of the US.

Northern Alabama was impacted by the 2011 Super Outbreak, the worst tornado outbreak on record, on April 27, 2011. A large portion of North Alabama lost electricity for several days as a result of an EF5 tornado that passed through the area close to the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant. The Anderson Hills subdivision and Harvest, Alabama both sustained significant damage from the same tornado. Madison County recorded a total of nine fatalities and numerous injuries. Other notable tornado incidents include the Super Outbreak in April 1974, the tornado in November 1989 that killed 21 people and injured over 460 others, and the tornado in Anderson Hills in 1995 that killed one person and left behind severe property damage. Huntsville sustained moderate damage from an EF2 tornado that slammed the city on January 21, 2010. It was not rain-wrapped and was simple to photograph, therefore it was widely covered by the media.

Although Huntsville lies about 300 miles (480 km) inland, hurricanes seldom make landfall there with all of their power; however, several minor tropical storms pass through the region after making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Although Huntsville experiences some measurable snow most winters, substantial snowfall is uncommon. There have, however, been a few snowstorms that have been extremely heavy, such as the one on New Year's Eve in 1963, when 17 in (43 cm) of snow fell in just 24 hours. The Groundhog Day snowfall in February 1996 and the Blizzard of 1993 were both significant winter storms for Huntsville. Huntsville received nearly 4 inches (10 cm) of snow on Christmas Day 2010, 8.9 inches (23 cm) at the airport, and up to 10 inches (25 cm) in the suburbs on January 9–10, 2011.

Economy

Huntsville's main economic influence is derived from aerospace and military technology. The main economic engines of the region are Cummings Research Park (CRP), NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and Redstone Arsenal. The second-largest research park in the US and the fourth-largest worldwide is CRP. The University of Alabama in Huntsville serves as a regional hub for engineering and technology research. Commercial technology firms include ADTRAN, a provider of network access, Intergraph, a maker of computer graphics, and Avocent, a designer and producer of IT infrastructure. From its facility in Huntsville, Cinram produces and distributes DVDs and Blu-ray discs for 20th Century Fox. There is a Sanmina-SCI presence in the region. Huntsville is home to several Fortune 500 businesses.

Sports

There are numerous adult sports teams and leagues in Huntsville. The Von Braun Center is home to the Huntsville Havoc, a Southern Professional Hockey League professional ice hockey team. An amateur adult soccer league with seven teams, the Huntsville Adult Soccer League has four men's divisions, a premier team, a women's team, and a master's team. Merrimack Sports Complex is where they play. The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is home to the Rocket City Roller Derby, which competes at the NSS Convention Center. The NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville Chargers men's and women's basketball teams compete at Spragins Hall. They represent the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The NCAA D-I FCS division includes the Alabama A&M Bulldogs men's football team from Alabama A&M University.

The Von Braun Center, which has a maximum arena seating capacity of 9,000, is Huntsville's largest stadium. The Trash Pandas play their home games at Toyota Field, a baseball stadium with a about 7,500-seat capacity in Madison. Universities and public schools utilize a number of smaller stadiums, such as Joe Davis Stadium, which has a capacity of 6,000, Louis Crews Stadium, which has a capacity of 21,000, and Milton Frank Stadium, which has a capacity of 12,000. Youth soccer organizations use the 14 fields at the Merrimack Soccer Complex. A quarter-mile oval racetrack, the Huntsville Raceway hosts competitions and other events.

The majority of Huntsville's former professional sports teams were either relocated to other cities or disbanded due to a lack of funding. The Huntsville Rockets football team was Huntsville's first organized sports group. It debuted in 1962 but disbanded in 1967 due to financial difficulties. A football team named the Alabama Hawks was established in 1963, but was disbanded for financial reasons in 1969. Formerly known as the Nashville Sounds in Nashville, Tennessee, the Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that was established in 1985. 2014 saw their relocation to Biloxi, Mississippi, where they adopted the name Biloxi Shuckers. Originally established in 1981 as the Roanoke Valley Rampage in Vinton, Virginia, the Huntsville Blast was a minor league ice hockey team that moved to Huntsville in 1993. The next year, the group changed its name to the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and moved to Tallahassee, Florida. Due to a lack of funding, the indoor soccer team known as the Huntsville Fire was disbanded in 1998. The Huntsville Havoc was an ice hockey team that had been established in 1995 under the moniker Huntsville Channel Cats. A basketball team named the Huntsville Flight was established in 2001 and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2005. They are now known as the Cleveland Charge. An indoor football team named the Tennessee Valley Raptors was founded in 2000 and moved to Rockford, Illinois, in 2005. A 2010-born indoor football team named the Alabama Hammers disbanded in 2016 as a result of the league's demise.

Government

Tommy Battle is the city's current mayor. He was originally chosen in 2008 and later re-elected in 2012, 2016 and 2020. John Hamilton took over as the city administrator on January 1, 2014, when Rex Reynolds retired.

The City Council is composed of five members (one from each district). Due to the staggered nature of council elections, Districts 2, 3, and 4 held elections in August 2018 while Districts 1 and 5 held polls concurrently with the 2020 mayoral elections. The majority of governmental services and development initiatives are governed by boards and commissions in the city. The city announced in 2020 that a new, $80 million structure would be constructed, with plans to house all boards and committees in a single structure.

The first Alabama fundraising event for then-Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign took place in Huntsville in July 2007. 2008's Alabama Democratic Primary in Madison County was ultimately won by Obama by significant percentages. John McCain won Madison County with 57% of the vote in the general election. In the general election of 2016, Donald Trump (R) received 55% of the vote in Madison County, followed by Hillary Clinton (D), who received 38%, and Gary Johnson (L), who received 4%. Former Representative Mo Brooks (R-5th Congressional District, AL) declared his intention to leave the House of Representatives in 2022 and run for the Senate. To succeed Mo Brooks, Dale Strong won the election in November.

Population

The city of Huntsville is situated in Alabama's Madison County. It is also the county seat of Madison County. It is the largest city in Alabama and the 108th largest city in the United States with a projected population of 225,476 in 2023. Huntsville's population has grown by 4.87% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 215,006 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 1.57% yearly. Huntsville has a population density of 1,052 persons per square mile with a total length of nearly 216 miles.

With a poverty rate of 17.56% and an average family income of $80,877, Huntsville is a city. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. Huntsville's median age is 36.8 years, with 35.4 years for men and 38.2 years for women.

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