Tornado's in NWA? (Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Benton: tornadoes, trip , rent)

[jsnichols1]

I think (partially thanks to all the great advice here) that we're looking to move to either Fayetteville or Bentonville.

My big fear (given that we have 3 kids under the age of 5) is tornado's. I'm a Northeast Ohio native, and am scared to death that we're moving into an area with a high tornado frequency. And with few houses with basements, that's a huge worry for me!

Any info you can share with me? My hubby grew up in Jonesboro/Heber Springs, so they aren't as big a worry to him.

*hugs*
Sue

[Cali BassMan]

From Citi=Data:

Fayetteville-area historical tornado activity is slightly below Arkansas state average. It is 97% greater than the overall U.S. average.


On 5/4/1999, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 8.1 miles away from the Fayetteville city center caused $100,000 in damages.

On 4/30/1954, a category 3 tornado 11.2 miles away from the city center injured one person and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

[J Arp]

More city data copy/paste...

Jonesboro-area historical tornado activity is near Arkansas state average. It is 149% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/26/1973, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 1.0 miles away from the Jonesboro city center killed 3 people and injured 289 people and caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.
On 3/15/1984, a category 4 tornado 25.0 miles away from the city center killed 5 people and injured 12 people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages.

I know we've had more tornadoes than that in Jonesboro, but those are apparently the only two that caused significant damage. I remember standing outside my house and watching one cross the farm fields in the distance.

Then I started to run toward the storm shelter...

The only thing that was damaged that time was probably some fish and soybeans.
--
I guess the point I'm trying to re-enforce is that Jonesboro is a much larger tornado magnet than Fayetteville...I've seen a couple of funnel clouds and only one tornado in Jonesboro. I'm one of those people that like to sit in the garage and have a few brews when all hell is breaking loose outside.
I'm sure the geography of Fayetteville helps a bit against tornado formation, but tornadoes can form just about anywhere in the States if I'm not mistaken.

[nmnita]

As we understand it, NWA is less likely to have tornados than many parts of AR. Remember you can move to Cal and hav earthquakes, the south or atlantic states and get hit with hurricanes, many parts of the country experience blizzards, tornados hit the plains, Tenn, OK and Texas regularly and don't forget the floods. I know what you are saying and we worry a little as well, but we spent 13 years in NO Texas, which is referred to as tornado alley and never witnessed a tornado. Some did do damage not far from where we lived and yet we were lucky. Our daughter and son in law have lived in the same area, near where we lived for 21 years. They haven't had one either.

We can't spend our lives worrying about what might happen. I am a little more concerned about spiders and snakes in AR: not enough to keep us from re-locating, but it does worry me. I love to work in the garden, hope to have some fruit trees and to grow my produce for canning. I prefer not to share the cukes with rattle snakes or some other type of creatures. If I grow it I want to eat it or share with my friends, not with things that evade my yard uninvited.

[TaJasMi]

ehh you'll do just fine. I was born there and I grew up there...that is over 20 years..I never saw any tornados

[JoeBud]

If I had to move to anywhere in Arkansas, it would be the NW part of the state. I would not even give tornadoes a thought. As mentioned, being in the mountains with the valley to the south seems to help.

[sergio]

Yeah, nothing to worry about with the tornadoes. Now Spiders and Snakes. Yeah, they get on my nerves in the summer. Last summer I couldnt wait for fall. I was sitting in my girls living room watching tv and saw the biggest spider crawl across the living room floor. They are big in this part of the country. And during the winter, stupid me rents a house with a lake and woods behind it! DOH! Havent seen anything yet but I can imagine the home invasion they are planning back there for when the weather warms up.

[Dublin]

I've lived here for 18 years, and have only seen a tornado once, and it was in a neighboring city not my own. Since we're set a bit more up in the Ozarks, they offer a natural block.

The only reason you should worry is if you're wanting to move to the flat lands of OK. Believe me, no worries here.

Sergio - They do grow big here don't they!

- J

[Rocket Dog]

Darn! I have spent all week planning my trip to Fayetteville to look for a place to rent or to buy a mobile home. Nearly have my bag packed and car filled with gas. NOW . . . you tell me about spiders and snakes.

[undertheironsea]

One thing that Arkansas has that I didn't expect was tarantulas.

I learned that by digging up rocks in my backyard.