KC extreme weather - what to know? (Kansas City, California: house, employment)

[ryanswindle]

I have never experienced an ice storm, is there anything to know and do regarding them? Do you absolutely not drive during or after? Do most offices not expect people to come in after an ice storm?

I can drive great in the snow having grown up in Denver, but don't know the first thing about an ice storm..

Also, floods, do most people in KC keep prepared with general hunkering down supplies? Is there anything good to know or have that I might not know having never been somewhere that had floods or ice storms?

This came to mind because Denver just got hit by 5 tornadoes, and somebody in the Denver forum who wasn't from an area that gets tornadoes was asking where to go if you don't have a basement. It occurred to me that I know in that event you go into the bath tub and cover up with a mattress/couch cushion, you stay away from windows except to crack them open so the pressure difference doesn't blow them out, are there little tidbits like this regarding ice storms and floods that you folks know because you grew up in a flood plain?

[MrsMo]

Ice storms don't happen very often thank heavens. We just make sure we have plenty of batteries for flashlights and radioes and stock up on sandwich items and pack a cooler of ice and drinks on the deck. In an ice storm the electricity will more than likely go out for a few days.As for driving on ice, I don't but husband will if necessary. More than likely your place of employment will be closed due to no power, but most do not expect you to get in to work anyway. Our last big ice storm was 8 years ago. The only other one I remember was in the mid 80's. My kids were out of school for 2 weeks.

Floods in KC depend on where you live. Where we live we are not affected.

[misplaced1]

You won't have an ice storm every year either which is nice. I was in N Missouri two years and we had what I consider mild winters. I've lived in Denver also and it was mild compared to those in Denver. Even the snow we had was mimimal compared to what I see here in California. I've never experienced an ice storm there but I did always keep on hand water, lights, batteries, radio, small generator, anything I thought I might need if severe weather struck. I was a lot more worried about tornadoes and straight line winds than winter storms but I'm used to winter, not so much the amount of tornado warnings I went through there. The winter roads there were slick and I believe you can use studded tires certain months out of the year.

[scimitar12]

KC does have very mild winters, probably the mildest of any major city in the midwest. Even some of the golf course are open year round. Still, it is the mild winter weather that can cause KC to get some icy weather during the winter. Flooding is no worse here than elsewhere. Snow fall is really limited too. The area is supposed to get 20 inches of snow a year but the last fifteen or twenty winters the area has barely received 10 inches or so per year. And, becasue the winters are so mild most of the snow melts in two days or so; it never really accumulates.

I used to work at the KC Kansas public library during the nineties. We had a garden program and a local lawn and garden expert spoke to the crowd. He said that KC had a very generous growing season and that basically KC only had three seasons, winter not one of them. Basically, KC had either a very long, cold fall, or a very long and early cold spring to make up for the lack of a winter season.

[OneKC]

If you live anywhere near the KC Metro area you will not be affected by floods. We last had floods in the early 80s I believe, and they fixed all the levees and did enough creek remediation that it hasn't and shouldn't be a problem at all. Floods tend to happen in more rural areas where they cannot afford better levees.

As for ice storms, I can only think of one or two the last few years. There is nothing you really need to know. Its slick out, so just drive really slowly. You'll probably have a lot of downed tree branches as the ice weighs them down. Power goes out in some neighborhoods when the ice weighs the lines down and breaks them. That's about it. Its a mess for a day or two and you get over it.

I've lived hear for twenty years and have been close to a tornado maybe 2-3 times. That really gets overblown. Most tornadoes seem to happen in rural areas too, very rarely do they get close to the city at all.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by OneKC

If you live anywhere near the KC Metro area you will not be affected by floods. We last had floods in the early 80s I believe, and they fixed all the levees and did enough creek remediation that it hasn't and shouldn't be a problem at all. Floods tend to happen in more rural areas where they cannot afford better levees.

As for ice storms, I can only think of one or two the last few years. There is nothing you really need to know. Its slick out, so just drive really slowly. You'll probably have a lot of downed tree branches as the ice weighs them down. Power goes out in some neighborhoods when the ice weighs the lines down and breaks them. That's about it. Its a mess for a day or two and you get over it.

I've lived hear for twenty years and have been close to a tornado maybe 2-3 times. That really gets overblown. Most tornadoes seem to happen in rural areas too, very rarely do they get close to the city at all.

What? Do you not remember the 1993 floods?

Floods happen pretty much every single spring in at least one area of the metro. Most of them are not major but people in KC are affected by flooding every single year. Flash flooding takes place several times during the spring.

This last year we had flooding in our neighborhood during one storm so bad this last spring that you couldnt cross the street or you would of been swept away in the current.

[RjRobb2]

As far as ice storms, we generally get a couple of ice storms a year. Some of them are worse than others.

I have never worked anywhere that closed during an ice storm. You might be excused to come in late but you were expected to be there. I have always worked for large corporations though. Smaller businesses might be different.

As far as driving goes, it sucks to drive on ice. No matter how good of a driver you think you are on ice, you can lose control in a second. I have been in multiple accidents on ice. The worst part is that you get black ice which you cannot even see. I was even in a 9 car pile up where three people died. Having to deal with ice is probably my least favorite part of living in Kansas City.

[OneKC]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

What? Do you not remember the 1993 floods?

Barely, because there was no flooding near where I lived.

[RJDBLues]

Should we look into buying chains or snow tires before we move? I haven't even seen a few snow flakes in years!

[northbound74]

No chains needed. The roads get cleared off pretty good. If you're mostly familiar with the south, KC is VERY cold. If you're more familiar with the north, it's a bit mild. Sub-freezing temps stick around for weeks at a time, and hovering around 0 is fairly common for at least a week or two. Snowstorms are frequent, but small usually. The most I've seen at one time is 8-10 inches. You're not going to mistake it for the UP. Flooding is easily avoidable, thanks to a terrain of mostly rolling hills. Just don't buy a house at the bottom of one. I see on the news where some city streets get under water, but I've never personally encountered it.