Scottsbluff NE/ tornado's? (job transfer, living in, stats)

[karcar]

Hello,
We are thinking of retiring in Scottsbluff Ne. but was wondering are there tornado's in that area? thanks

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by karcar

Hello,
We are thinking of retiring in Scottsbluff Ne. but was wondering are there tornado's in that area? thanks

Yes, tornados are common all over Nebraska. As are summer thunderstorms.

[kosnebbear]

karcar,

Here you go a nice web site that you can surf and see about the tornadoes and storms of Nebraska.

Also if you do move to Nebraska you will get use to the storms in time.

Nebraska Weather and Climate

[Jasper87]

We have lived near Scottsbluff for the past six years and when my wife and I read your question, we had to think about it. We can remember about four or five tornado warnings in the area. We haven't had any serious warnings in the past two years. They can happen -- but after living in central Oklahoma and southern Missouri, it seems relatively calm compared to those areas. It's even been a bit light on the amount of hail we've received as well.

[dakota79]

I am researching the Scottsbluff area due to a likely job transfer, and am kinda getting confused about the tornado stats I am finding.

First, the city-data site under Scottsbluff, NE says the city is "below state average", and "3% below national average".

That sounded good, until I saw that the county had 52 tornadoes from 1950-2005. I was like "52 tornadoes does not sound below national average."

Then when I pull up Scotts Bluff County, NE on city-data.com, it says that activity in the county is "4.1 times the national average".

So then I thought, "okay, so the city is below average, but the county is well above average?" I then looked on the map through the link provided a few posts up, and sure enough, most of the tornadoes in Scotts Bluff County are in the far eastern part of the county, with only a few in the center part near the city.

Is this an accurate observation? Any idea why the eastern part of the county seems more prone? Or is it just the luck of the draw?

[Bigg Mann]

Originally Posted by karcar

Hello,
We are thinking of retiring in Scottsbluff Ne. but was wondering are there tornado's in that area? thanks

I grew up in sw Ne and never saw or had a tornado close by. Now I live in south central Kentucky and they have hit within 5 miles and one last week in Richmond, KY, 40 miles east, that killed 2 people. We aren't even in the tornado belt but they happen all around us.

[tpabes]

Originally Posted by dakota79

I am researching the Scottsbluff area due to a likely job transfer, and am kinda getting confused about the tornado stats I am finding.

First, the city-data site under Scottsbluff, NE says the city is "below state average", and "3% below national average".

That sounded good, until I saw that the county had 52 tornadoes from 1950-2005. I was like "52 tornadoes does not sound below national average."

Then when I pull up Scotts Bluff County, NE on city-data.com, it says that activity in the county is "4.1 times the national average".

So then I thought, "okay, so the city is below average, but the county is well above average?" I then looked on the map through the link provided a few posts up, and sure enough, most of the tornadoes in Scotts Bluff County are in the far eastern part of the county, with only a few in the center part near the city.

Is this an accurate observation? Any idea why the eastern part of the county seems more prone? Or is it just the luck of the draw?

Thats interesting. Maybe the topography has something to do with it?

[ehenningsen]

Originally Posted by tpabes

Thats interesting. Maybe the topography has something to do with it?

There are several types of tornadoes..

And only one type of tornado that i am aware of is not affected by topography and that is a tornado with a strong jet-stream orientation, and these types are rare..

Topography is huge for the development of most tornados, and since Scotts Bluff is in a semi-arid region, they get about 1/3rd of the amount of rain than the average US, and 1/2 of the average for the state. As a matter of fact, they only average 4 inches more rain than the highest alotted amount to be defined as a desert.

So, with that said, Scotts Bluff is in a part of Nebraska that is the driest, least humid, and can be considered EXTREMELY SAFE as far as tornados are concerned.. And really, it is probably rare that a tornado will rip through the same piece of property more than once in a millenium..

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Nebraska Tornado Density

The above map shows something similar, with Scotts Bluff County having a higher density of tornados that surrounding panhandle counties.

Makes me wonder if part of that is due to population density, ie there is a network of storm spotters who report more tornados than in the sparsely-populated counties to the north and south of Scotts Bluff County.