Tell me about tornado dangers in Austin (Dallas, Waco: sale, motorhome)

[margo0645]

We are wanting to move to Austin, but my daughter has become quite lilly-livered since she had a baby last year, and now she's scared to death we'll get to Austin and all be wiped out by a tornado. I understand her fears and respect them, but honestly, can anyone out there tell me the real dangers? I haven't seen any tornado activity within say a 20 mi radius, or am I just uninformed? Thanks for any help!

[TexasHorseLady]

Well, there was the Jarrell tornado back in 1997, but that's more like 40 miles away. Though it did go through Cedar Park and further south. And we get tornado watches often (even those of us in Jarrell mostly ignore those) and warnings occasionally, but those tend to be more in the counties west and east of Austin.

The chances of seeing a tornado, never mind being "wiped out" in one, are pretty small here. Where are you moving from, and what natural dangers do you take for granted there? (I don't think there's anywhere that doesn't have some natural dangers.)

[TexasGirl@Heart]

If you do a comparison among all states within the nation...I think Texas would have the least natural disasters...
Think about it...

The East coast....Hurricanes
South (Florida/Mississippi/Louisiana/and Texas Gulf)...Hurricanes
West coast...Earthquakes/fires
North....Blizzards

Austin seems very low on the scale for natural disasters, partly because of it's location in the middle of a huge state...that's my own personal opinion

[MJinAustin]

I'm lilly livered too about tornadoes. There are some around here, but I haven't known one to hit Austin proper. They are usually to the north and east of us. Now...I would say don't move to Oklahoma!...but Austin...probably don't have much to worry about.

[jread]

Tornadoes really aren't an issue. Austin's weather is actually quite boring. It's mainly sunny and hot as hell, then a thunderstorm comes along for 10-minutes, then back to being sunny and hot as hell again. The short Fall/Winter/Spring combo is the most perfect weather you could ask for.

[Texacan]

You can get a Midland weather alert radio which alerts automatically when a tornado warning is issued. If you are asleep, it wakes you. It can be programmed just for Travis county.

HEB had these on sale for $30.

[Mckellyb]

Being a Dallas native, I can say the weather in Austin is much less wild than inside the Witchita Falls/Waco/Tyler/Ardmore, OK, area.

I've seen a couple of tornadoes, from a good distance. I've been close to where they've hit, when they hit, but there's a low chance of being 'gotten' by one.

Hail, now...hail's a drag. I can tell you, anything over nickle-sized will leave welts, not to mention you'll have little puddles on your car...

As Texanwannabe says, everywhere has its hazards. Snow, BTDT, it gets old if there's a lot of it and it lasts for months. Heat, BTDT, 105F @ 7 AM, had enough of the desert. Earthquakes, been through one, which was kinda neat, but then there wasn't any damage to us, so BTDT. Hurricanes...the eye of Ernesto, I think, back in '06, passed over us while in our motorhome, in Jamestown, VA, seeing the sights. Interesting, experiencing that much rain in 48 hours, or so...similar to seeing 4 feet of snow in 24 hours while in the high-country of CO. You start to wonder, will it stop? Otherwise, surprisingly uneventful, though I think we just happened to be in a very sheltered area.

Don't let the weather freak you out...the National Weather Service keeps a close eye on it, and with what you can access online, you likely can get a better handle on what's happening, where you are, right now, than if you watched local TV. The Weather Channel tends to be at least 15 minutes behind the curve, which isn't enough time, if bad stuff is close to you.

[mattman44]

Don't worry about tornados. The following is from noaa.gov
"The destructive core in hurricanes can be tens of miles across, last many hours and damage structures through storm surge and rainfall-caused flooding, as well as from wind. Tornadoes, in contrast, tend to be a few hundred yards in diameter, last for minutes and primarily cause damage from their extreme winds."

So even if Austin got hit damage is very localized compared to most other natural disasters. People get caught up in fears of the unknown. 40,000 people die in auto accidents each year but I bet you still drive your car -well maybe not anymore

[jeffari-al-texani]

The tornadoes come through daily and take away the first born of every family...they are evil...they can't be reasoned with...they will kill you...so stay away...

you have been warned...

[mandib]

Originally Posted by jeffari-al-texani

The tornadoes come through daily and take away the first born of every family...they are evil...they can't be reasoned with...they will kill you...so stay away...

you have been warned...

LOL. It's true.