Does anyone live in tornado alley?

[LisaR]

DH is entertaining a job offer. I like everything about it except the fact that it is in tornado alley. I'm reading the FEMA preparation guide and well....

The wind speeds generated by some tornadoes are so great that designing for these extreme winds is beyond the scope of building codes and engineering standards.

I'm worried we'll move and I'll never leave the house when there is even the slightest hint of rain for fear of a tornado. Do you really just get used to it or will I be doing way more of this ?

 

[powellrj]

Its something you get use to. Now with the weather advances they have made, they can tell you almost to the street what time the tornado will be passing through.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've lived in tornado alley most of my life and never even seen one. You just stay aware and when to take action. Then you let it go. Because when your number's up, your number's up. And before you let that worry you, refer back to my first statement. I still have never even seen one. I just don't give it much thought, although I do take warnings seriously. Watches? Not so much. Those can be daily for months in the spring.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I've lived in tornado alley most of my life and never even seen one. You just stay aware and when to take action. Then you let it go. Because when your number's up, your number's up. And before you let that worry you, refer back to my first statement. I still have never even seen one. I just don't give it much thought, although I do take warnings seriously. Watches? Not so much. Those can be daily for months in the spring.

Same. There ARE some extra precautions that can be taken. My house sits at a decent elevation. We're susceptible to wind & did have our roof damaged by 110 MPH (estimated) straight line winds. My parents sit down in a hole & they're protected from high winds by the surrounding hills.

 

[bookgirl]

I live in Oklahoma, born and bred. Seen lots over my life time. Some a little close for comfort.

Tornados are common and we've had some whoppers but we rarely have deaths because our warning systems are so good. Not only do we have some of the most accurate and best trained meteorologist but the National weather center is in Norman at the University of Oklahoma. I don't worry about being taken by surprise.

Now there is some damage done every year but honestly that happens everywhere. West Coast Earthquakes, East Coast hurricanes and Noreasters, Northern Blizzards and flooding in the South. Every region in the US has natural disasters, at least Tornados have some degree of predictability and procautionary and proactive procedures that minimize a lot of the danger.

Honestly around here when there is a tornado we're more likely to go outside and look up then to hide. Unless you are in the actual path you can be pretty safe and never even know it's there.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks! You guys have made me feel much better!

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Yes, honestly you get used to the tornado watches and warnings. You get plenty of warning. We rarely have to go to our basement because they can pinpoint the location so well.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We lived in Tornado Alley for 4 years in Texas. Our house was 2 blocks off I35.

One night the tornado siren went off. I didnt know what it meant and my next door neighbor really risked his life to come knock on my door and told me to go take the boys and get in the tornado closet. (My dh was back to Ny for another job). The tornado closet is a closet in the master bedroom that is actually anchored to the foundation and will not come off.

Our town suffered over $1 million in damage to our new community center. 2 friends from church had to be pulled out of the community center.

The tornado skipped over I35 and then went into another town that suffered lots of damage. Sadly another family from our church lost their house.

Just be prepared, have all the stuff you need in a safe place and listen to the warnings.

 

[Wendy31]

We live just north of what's sometimes been referred to as the "new tornado alley" or the "secondary tornado alley". We're fortunate in that, most of the time, the storms tend to fizzle out as they cross the Alabama-Tennessee line, but, over the past few years, tornado warnings have become more frequent.

I have a friend whose family lost their house in the 2011 tornado outbreak.

And, one night last week, we had several tornado warnings - one touched down just south of us, & another one touched down just north of us.

DH & I were watching a recorded program, so we didn't even know what was going on until my cell phone alerted. I looked at Facebook & saw everyone posting from their basements! So, we got the kids up (it was after midnight) & scurried down to our basement w/ our dog. Thankfully, the tornado stayed in the sky & didn't touch down.

But, like other posters have said, the radars are so good now that they can really pinpoint where it is down to the street. Our local meteorologist was saying things like, "Big Ridge, you need to take cover now."

I am thankful for our basement, & I wouldn't want to live in a tornado-prone area w/o one!

 

[sasywtch]

This CA girl moved to Oklahoma City area in 98 and faced my first F5 tornado May 3, 1999. I agree with others that say you do have advanced notice but if you don't have a tornado shelter, spend the money to get one. We were lucky that my neighbors let us use theirs and our town was one of the few that had 2 large local shelters. Peace of mind. The only thing that I didn't understand was why all the schools didn't have underground shelters. That bothered me when we were there. Honestly, you get use to it and the last one before we moved back to CA, we were one of the idiots standing outside watching while the storm chasers were driving by. Also, you didn't mention where you are moving and from where but one thing that was not mentioned to us before we transferred there was the black ice they have. That bothered me more than the tornados.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

We live in the south which has often been said to suffer more tornado fatalities than the rest of the country. In all honestly, you learn the drill and get used to it. Every part of the country has some natural weather issue with which to deal whether it's earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, mudslides, major snow and ice storms, floods. Just learn the safety precautions for your area and have a safe space in the event of a tornado. Also, learn what to do if you're nowhere near your safe space. And then just go about your life as normal. Most of the things we fear never really show up at the front door, and if they do then you've prepared yourself with how to stay safe in this particular emergency. Good luck with the move!

 

[Aliceacc]

OK, I have a question on the topic.

I'm a total weather geek. I watch lots of the Weather Channel shows. And I'm always surprised to find how many homes in that part of the country don't seem to have tornado shelters.

There's obviously got to be a reason. My home on Long Island has a basement. (I'm in it right now.) It's not a storm shelter, but would be safer than an interior room upstairs if necessary.

Is there something about the soil or something that makes it harder or more expensive for homes and schools and places of business to be built with basements? Why is it not automatically part of the building plans when a building goes up in the part of the country that has the highest incidence of tornados?

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I have a question on the topic.

I'm a total weather geek. I watch lots of the Weather Channel shows. And I'm always surprised to find how many homes in that part of the country don't seem to have tornado shelters.

There's obviously got to be a reason. My home on Long Island has a basement. (I'm in it right now.) It's not a storm shelter, but would be safer than an interior room upstairs if necessary.

Is there something about the soil or something that makes it harder or more expensive for homes and schools and places of business to be built with basements? Why is it not automatically part of the building plans when a building goes up in the part of the country that has the highest incidence of tornados?

Nearly everyone in our area has a basement. If they don't, especially in an area that's part of tornado alley, I would assume soil conditions were not favorable for a basement.

 

[Micca]

Just about anywhere in the U.S. has some kind of potentially catastrophic climate conditions...or earthquakes. If someone has a great job offer to relocate, I'd say tornadoes are not a reason to pass on the job. I do think it's a good idea to have a basement, they're useful for lots of fun things in addition to the occasional tornado warning.

 

[Kitty 34]

This tornado was about 10 miles south of my son last year. He grew up in Michigan so it was quite a sight to see.

 

[DisneyOma]

To answer your question in the thread title - no, no one lives there, They all died.

 

[usnuzuloose]

DH's family lives in Tornado Alley

 

[Gumbo4x4]

OK, I have a question on the topic.

I'm a total weather geek. I watch lots of the Weather Channel shows. And I'm always surprised to find how many homes in that part of the country don't seem to have tornado shelters.

There's obviously got to be a reason. My home on Long Island has a basement. (I'm in it right now.) It's not a storm shelter, but would be safer than an interior room upstairs if necessary.

Is there something about the soil or something that makes it harder or more expensive for homes and schools and places of business to be built with basements? Why is it not automatically part of the building plans when a building goes up in the part of the country that has the highest incidence of tornados?

My parents have a Winter home near Austin & nobody there has basements because of issues with the ground. None of their neighbors park in the garage because that's where they store all the crap you & I would keep in the basement LOL

 

[gotomu212]

There's a lot of variation depending on where you live in tornado alley. In college I was part of a team that chased storms (academically not like the crazy reality show people). The thing to remember is that tornados are different in they impact a very small area (even the very rare super ones). When a hurricane or even ice storm comes by it's going to be rough for a large area and produce widespread destruction. When a tornado comes through it will most likely hit a couple of houses/maybe a few neighborhoods and be done (yes there are long runners or the big F4/F5s that hit a more populated area but those are super super rare). The majority of tornadoes hit rural areas and don't inflict damage to people or homes.

The majority of deaths, very sadly, occur to people in mobile homes because they don't have the structural integrity that a foundation home has. So if living in a mobile home you need to have a strong plan in place for storms that involves alternate shelter.

Despite the time I spent studying them and volunteering with the Red Cross I only saw 2 very bad storms and they were over 400 miles from each other. I'm more nervous of hurricanes and earthquakes.

 

[LisaR]

To answer your question in the thread title - no, no one lives there, They all died.

Really?? Or maybe the title of the thread is meant to ask if anyone on the Dis boards lives in an area that is considered tornado alley. Since that was too long, I shortened it. You seem to be the only one who took it the wrong way.