Moving to Oklahoma/Texas... Wichita Falls folk, some info?

[txsizzler]

Originally Posted by extexanwannabe

Tornado alley...both of them. Wichita Falls, Texas has some of the country's worst weather. Brutally hot and dry summers, extremely cold winters with ice and snow, and spring flooding.

Well now, I wouldn't say Wichita Falls has brutally cold winters. In fact, it stays fairly mild for the most part, with occasional cold spells here and there. Snow falls maybe once or twice a winter. We have many days during the winter where the temp will top 70 degrees, and some days above 80! On the flip side, we do have some days where the temperature will hover a little above or below freezing (but those days are few and far between). Most of the time, our afternoon temps range from the 40's to the 60's.

I have yet to see a "springtime flood" as you so noted. Back in early July of 2007 we had our first flooding event that I had seen in the 15 years I have been here. Then, in August of 2008, we had a thunderstorm that produced up to 12" of rain in the northern part of Wichita County. Other than that, no flooding events that I have seen.

Summers can be quite hot, and at points, can be brutal. Do tell me though, ANY part of Texas besides the mountains of far west Texas that do not have brutually hot periods! At least Wichita Falls maintains a good breeze during the 100 degree plus days, and tempers the air a bit.

Tornadoes, like the heat, can be seen pretty much anywhere in Texas, minus the far western parts of the state (mountains). Wichita Falls IS in tornado alley, and can be subjected to some punishing thunderstorms. But, it also makes it far more interesting too .


Ian

[NOTAM]

i miss the extreme storms of the area. incredible thunder and lightning shows and i will never forget the wierd "aura" of the skies during tornado watches/warnings. veryeerie but cool.

[txsizzler]

Here is a typical, winter time 7-Day forecast for Wichita Falls. The following forecast is from the NOAA, and starts today on 01-29-09. Pretty much exactly what my last post noted:

Today: Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 50. Light west northwest wind.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. West northwest wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 61. West wind around 6 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. West wind around 7 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 66. West wind around 8 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 58.

Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 29.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 58.


Ian

[tadaasana]

Sounds like we got an exaggerator. =P Thanks for clearing that up, Ian. =]

[txsizzler]

No problem, tadaasana... I live to stamp out exaggerations


Ian

[GayleTX]

Sometimes you can guess at a person's feelings about a place by their screen name.......the poster that felt the WF winters to be brutally cold, for example......."extexanwannabe."

[extexanwannabe]

OOKKK people. In my own defense, I had a buddy who was in the USAF in the mid '70s. That's where I got my info from. I have also read since then, in Texas Monthly, that Wichita Falls Texas was one of the weather worst places to live in Texas. Of course, weather does not remain consisten decade after decade, does it? I stand corrected and thank you folks for being diplomatic about it.

[boaters]

Being in the military, we have lived all over the country. The weather here in Wichita Falls is great. I can't complain. Summers are hot, yes, but they don't have the humidity like the midwest. This is our 3rd winter here and we have only seen it snow once and accumulate into a dusting and that was gone by afternoon. Winter is very mild and who can complain about the 80 days we have had this season! Some of the worse weather I have ever seen takes place in Des Moines, Iowa! They seem to get hit with all of it! Most people in this area are prepared for Tornadoes with storm shelters or storm closets. We don't have one, but we have many neighbors who do. We have had to run to our daughters interior closet only once in three years and fortunately the spinning cloud nearby never produced a tornado that touched down. (I am knocking on wood right now!) I think it is a chance you take when you live here, just like Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and right on up Tornado Alley. The ability to plant Pansies in my flower beds in the fall and have them full and over grown by April makes it all worth it.