Dallas/Fort Worth tornados

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by BIGinDallas

I kept asking about a storm cellars, but people kept saying you can't have those here because it gets too humid or that water comes through. Is that not true and can any house add one of those? Because I would feel a LOT better having one too...

That is not true. I live 65 miles south of Fort Worth. If it were so, there wouldn't be so many people selling them and many having them put in the ground.

I've had mine for 10 years now ever since that F5 devasted the town and killed many people in Jarrell near Austin. That was it for me; no more living in Texas without one as it became a necessity on my list of few.

I have never had any problem with water until this June which was unusually wet. It felt damp "down under" and there was a bit of water in one spot that may have seeped through the bottom of it. It was barely measureable. I checked it about two weeks ago and found that one little area but now, it is once again fine.

Mine is in my backyard about 60 feet from my back door. It had to be poured (10' x 10' one-pour cement) in that end of the yard rather than right out the back door because I live in the country and closer to the back door would have interferred with the septic system's lateral lines.

I don't know why one couldn't be installed any place unless someone lives on top of rock underground. I really do love it, and it certainly gives much peace of mind, a great investment for a safe haven.

[SprintRider]

I was kind of shocked when I saw this. I don't ever remember hearing about it.

La Habra-area historical tornado activity is significantly above California state average. It is 76% smaller than the overall U.S. average.


On 11/9/1982, a category 2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 7.6 miles away from the La Habra city center caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

On 11/7/1966, a category 2 tornado 15.1 miles away from the city center injured 10 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

[KewGee]

Originally Posted by SprintRider

I was kind of shocked when I saw this. I don't ever remember hearing about it.

La Habra-area historical tornado activity is significantly above California state average. It is 76% smaller than the overall U.S. average.


On 11/9/1982, a category 2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 7.6 miles away from the La Habra city center caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

On 11/7/1966, a category 2 tornado 15.1 miles away from the city center injured 10 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

Yes, even Orange County has had 29 tornadoes in the past 57 years with no deaths reported. I find it strange too because I lived in L.A. County for 28 years and never once was there ever a mention of tornadoes. I believe every state in the union is capable of them, of course, some areas are harder hit than others as we all well know.

I remember after I moved to Texas, I was still getting my hometown newspaper from Burbank and in it was a story of a small tornado that was sighted in that city. I was shocked at that.

Here is what it says about the topic of this thread:

Dallas area historical tornado activity is above Texas state average. It is 223% greater than the overall U.S. average.

Fort Worth area historical tornado activity is above Texas state average. It is 221% greater than the overall U.S. average.

[BIGinDallas]

Any info or recommendations on how to get a storm cellar put in? How much does it cost?

[KewGee]

The one I had put in in 1997 cost $3,995 and with interest, the grand total of my payments amounted to $4,449. I just found the paperwork on the thing. The place was called:

Storm Shelter Builders
5212 Cockrell
Fort Worth, Texas 76133
(817) 346-9344

The nice gentleman's name was Bob Taylor, but I don't know if he is still around or not.

The only thing I can suggest is to google storm cellars and check out what is offered and then do some comparisons on the different companies as well as different styles of cellars. They have one-pour cement like I have and also pre-fabricated ones that are placed in the ground. There may be other styles as well. Some are flat to the ground like mine, and some are raised up.

Good luck.