MD to Dallas.. small children & horses, tornadoes, school help pls
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Hail damage is more prevalient than tornadoes. I live in Keller and about 1x a year we get BAD hail. last week we had spooty areas that got a few golf ball size (lasted about 3 min...my car was outside the school, no damage) We did get orange size 2 years ago...but that is like 10 hail stones that size and a ton about dime size. We have had NO hail damage to house or cars in 3.5 years.
Yes, we get watches and warnings during the spring... but that just mean conditions are condusive to tornadoes.
more wind damge (fences blown over etc...) than tornado damage. Last year a small one went through Colleyville and damaged the roofs of a couple of houses. That's the closest we've had.
The BIG ones that rip through entire towns are VERY rare.
But they do happen, there was a BIG one in downtown FT Worth in 2000.
We had a Tornado in Pittsburg...lost a bunch of trees. We also had one in VA (could have been a mico burst)
so yes you are more likly to get in a car wreck (esp with all the construction!!) than have a tornado near your house.
Keller has horse property and boarding...but not for your price. There are a couple on Whitley rd that has been for sale FOREVER... might be woth checking out on the internet...I think they were on the market ofr the upper 300's-400's but not sure. Teh may be interested in Renting though
There is a place that boards in North Richland Hills off Davis..
There is another one I have seen in Hurst, south of 183 off Industrial.
For your price and commute wishes...boarding & renting is probably the best option, until you really get to know the area etc...
Hail damage is more prevalient than tornadoes. I live in Keller and about 1x a year we get BAD hail. last week we had spooty areas that got a few golf ball size (lasted about 3 min...my car was outside the school, no damage) We did get orange size 2 years ago...but that is like 10 hail stones that size and a ton about dime size. We have had NO hail damage to house or cars in 3.5 years.
Yes, we get watches and warnings during the spring... but that just mean conditions are condusive to tornadoes.
more wind damge (fences blown over etc...) than tornado damage. Last year a small one went through Colleyville and damaged the roofs of a couple of houses. That's the closest we've had.
The BIG ones that rip through entire towns are VERY rare.
But they do happen, there was a BIG one in downtown FT Worth in 2000.
We had a Tornado in Pittsburg...lost a bunch of trees. We also had one in VA (could have been a mico burst)
so yes you are more likly to get in a car wreck (esp with all the construction!!) than have a tornado near your house.
Keller has horse property and boarding...but not for your price. There are a couple on Whitley rd that has been for sale FOREVER... might be woth checking out on the internet...I think they were on the market ofr the upper 300's-400's but not sure. Teh may be interested in Renting though
There is a place that boards in North Richland Hills off Davis..
There is another one I have seen in Hurst, south of 183 off Industrial.
For your price and commute wishes...boarding & renting is probably the best option, until you really get to know the area etc...
True, hail damage is a bigger deal. I lived in Carrollton for nine years and had the roof replaced twice due to hail damage.
Ditto others--don't worry about it. You could always build and underground shelter, but that is probably overkill. If you are really worried, you can reinforce a room in your house.
If you end up building, I would consider a pre-built reinforced tornado room and adding hurricane clips to a roof. These are getting popular in Oklahoma, especially in newer construction post May 3rd, 1999 torando. The hurricane clips can do a lot in keeping your roof on in high winds.
Building a "safe room" is not worth the money for several reasons--
there is just as much chance you will not BE at home if/when a tornado strikes your area so having a safe room does you no good at all in that situation
IF you are at home, you could be asleep and not have any warning to actually GET into your safe room
(many people who have been in the path of tornados have actually been asleep and only woke when it was bearing down on them and the noise woke them a few seconds ahead of the strike)
as long as your house is built fairly sound structually--and you can get into an area w/o windows in the interior of the house--under the stairs if there is good size closet like in our house--in a large closet--in interior hallway--any location with lots of framing is good--cause there is better support--if you have two story house--you want to be downstairs vs up
even in the bathtub with a mattress over you--can work
you are in fairly good shape
we have friends who live in Forney subdivision--east of Dallas--close to her parents
there was tornado (force 1) that went through their area and took off roof of house her mother and father live in while they were in bed--they weren't hurt but house was damaged of course
and our friends' house suffered no real damage at all
The top ten counties reporting the most tornadoes are:
Harris County — 210
Hale County — 119
Galveston County — 108
Jefferson County — 99
Nueces County — 93
Lubbock County — 83
Dallas County — 82
Lamb County — 82
Tarrant County — 80
Johnson County — 79
we have friends who live in Forney subdivision--east of Dallas--close to her parents
there was tornado (force 1) that went through their area and took off roof of house her mother and father live in while they were in bed--they weren't hurt but house was damaged of course
and our friends' house suffered no real damage at all
By Force 1, do you me EF1? That is nothing.
Sure, if a tornado hits, the liklihood that it will cause severe damage is minimal, but in North Texas it is a valid concern. This area has just been lucky enough not to have been hit with a strong tornado like OKC has. There is no reason that DFW wouldn't be at some point either--contrary to popular belief, tornadoes don't avoid rivers, urban areas, etc. Many people argue that they are most likely to hit rural area...maybe because there are more rural areas?
The Weather Channel actually had an F5 (now EF5) Tornado hitting Dallas as part of their "It Could Happen Tomorrow" series--I think you can watch it here:
It Could Happen Tomorrow: Trapped in a deadly tornado in Dallas (http://www.clicker.com/web/it-could-happen-tomorrow/trapped-in-a-deadly-tornado-in-dallas-956446/ - broken link)
If anything over an EF3 hit my house, I would wish I had a shelter like that! Take a look at example damage from different EF levels:
Plus, a "regular" reinforced room might keep you relatively safe, but if the roof comes off, you are still at risk for debris. That is what kills most people anyway. In 1999, one woman was scalped by a piece of paper!
As far as not being aware--get a weather radio and set it so it goes off for severe thunderstorm & tornado warnings. Then you will have done the most you can. Most storms are pretty actively tracked by the local news channels and all the cities around here have sirens--I wouldn't be too concerned about being caught unaware.
Most tornadoes occur between 4-9 pm (per NOAA), so there is a good chance you might be at home. Ha--or in Dallas traffic. Then you are screwed.
I bet that is because of the tornadoes that spawn off an incoming hurricane, which Harris County and Galveston County both get a lot of!
On your list, Lubbock is ahead of both Dallas and Tarrant County.
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