Iowa Weather...Tornadoes? Help, information please! (Des Moines, West Des Moines: 2015, houses, taxi)

[Omahahonors]

Originally Posted by Amythest2000

It really depends on where your going to live. If you're planning on living in the Dubuque area, they really don't have tornadoes very often, because it's hilly and by the river. Other places in Iowa probably have more, but I wouldn't know. And what everyone says about the cold is true. It can get down to 40 below with windchill. And it can get very hot and humid in the summer as well.

Wouldn't 40 below break the all time record low for des Moines? It rarely gets below lower than -5 there. I mean, like a couple times a year at max.

[fezzador]

Originally Posted by Omahahonors

Wouldn't 40 below break the all time record low for des Moines? It rarely gets below lower than -5 there. I mean, like a couple times a year at max.

It would by 10F.

Heck, Omaha's record low is even lower than DSM's, but then again Omaha's elevation is somewhat higher (about 200 feet difference... it's not much, but generally every 200 feet in elevation you gain, the temp drops by a degree, maybe two).

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Omahahonors

Wouldn't 40 below break the all time record low for des Moines? It rarely gets below lower than -5 there. I mean, like a couple times a year at max.

40 below windchill, I think. Not actual air temp.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

40 below windchill, I think. Not actual air temp.

Nope, -47 is actual temp. in Iowa.

It pales in comparison to everyone north and west though. Check out Montana. -70 TEMPERATURE (not wind chill).

Record Lowest Temperatures by State

In NW Iowa/South Dakota during the 1983 Christmas blizzard we had a -70 wind chill. Remember it well. Got snowed in at Sheldon, Iowa and couldn't get home for 2 days.

http://farmersalmanac.com/weather/20...hristmas-ever/

[Omahahonors]

Originally Posted by jmgg

Nope, -47 is actual temp. in Iowa.

It pales in comparison to everyone north and west though. Check out Montana. -70 TEMPERATURE (not wind chill).

Record Lowest Temperatures by State

In NW Iowa/South Dakota during the 1983 Christmas blizzard we had a -70 wind chill. Remember it well. Got snowed in at Sheldon, Iowa and couldn't get home for 2 days.

1983: "The Coldest Christmas Ever" - Farmers' Almanac

But that is the all time record. It was recorded at a time when recording air temps is not as accurate as they are now. Which is why a -20 air temp is now a once in two decade event.

In regards to global warming (regardless how it has been happening ), recent decades has also been seeing less snow. Omaha (metro extends into iowa) now recieves 26 inches, des moines 36, east iowa like 40+. These cities use to receive 10 more inches than this a year.

[jmgg]

[WantingWarm]

Moving from California even some of the not so severe storms may seem huge, however most do not turn into tornadoes. Yes, there are some tornadoes and they can be dangerous, but it's just like having an earthquake over 4.0. To see how much they really do happen here's a nifty site that shows all of the tornadoes in the country from 1950 til now:

Tornadoes By Zip Code

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by WantingWarm

Moving from California even some of the not so severe storms may seem huge, however most do not turn into tornadoes. Yes, there are some tornadoes and they can be dangerous, but it's just like having an earthquake over 4.0. To see how much they really do happen here's a nifty site that shows all of the tornadoes in the country from 1950 til now:

Tornadoes By Zip Code

That's a pretty cool site!

[Tek_Freek]

See the dark brown one that extends from Ankeny to Carlisle? We sat through that one. Find where East Euclid (Highway 6) meets the freeway. That's where we lived then.

[Nedibes]

Originally Posted by WantingWarm

Moving from California even some of the not so severe storms may seem huge, however most do not turn into tornadoes. Yes, there are some tornadoes and they can be dangerous, but it's just like having an earthquake over 4.0. To see how much they really do happen here's a nifty site that shows all of the tornadoes in the country from 1950 til now:

Tornadoes By Zip Code

Thanks for the link! It looks like there have been a few in my neighborhood over the years, but fortunately 0 fatalities and 0 injuries.

In my small town, whenever conditions look ripe the volunteer fire department deploys around town to storm-spot. If the sirens sound, it means one of our spotters has actually seen a funnel. It usually happens a few times each year, but so far nothing has come into town. Of course, there was the one storm when lightning hit a church steeple. All of our guys were out storm-spotting, so the neighboring fire department actually got to the fire first .