Are TORNADOES a concern when deciding to move to DFW? (Dallas: crime, house)
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My wife and I are thinking about moving to Dalls, Fort Worth, Frisco area. There is a lot of opportunity for both of our career fields. We currently live in Fresno, California with similar temperatures to Dallas. Some people call Fresno the "Armpit of the world," but we have three small children and the crime out here is horrendous. It is just getting to be too much for us, and we are tired of the California Central Valley among other things.
Currently, both of our jobs allow us to afford a home anywhere to 600k-700k in California. If we are able to get decent jobs in Texas, we will really consider moving there. The other day I was telling my wife, "I have never met a single person who didn't say that absolutely loved Texas." And that is true. A lot of our friends have moved that way and they LOVE LOVE LOVE Texas!
One major concern I have is that I don't know ANYTHING about tornadoes. I have lived in California all my life, and lived with earthquakes and such, but tornadoes are crazy to me. Is it something I should be concerned with? In my mind, I think of them like the movies, and families running for safety.
1. Do tornadoes happen at night when you're asleep?
2. How is it when you have children in Elementary school and a tornado warning occurs: safety, concern?
3. If your entire family is out in a public area (on a weekend) what do you do if a tornado forms near you?
4. How far away can you be from a tornado before it is "too late?"
5. Do people own tornado shelters in their homes -- how do you protect yourselves?
I would really appreciate any feedback from anyone. A tornado is really my ONLY concern for moving to DFW area. Thanks again,
It really boils down to the argument between what is possible vs. what is likely. Is it possible for an EF4 or EF5 to take out a part of the metroplex? Absolutely. Is it likely? No.
If, on the very remote chance one that strong does hit your house, your chances of survival are a crapshoot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alooper
1. Do tornadoes happen at night when you're asleep?
Yes. The humidity level in DFW is high enough that under the right atmospheric conditions tornadoes can occur late into the evening and overnight hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alooper
2. How is it when you have children in Elementary school and a tornado warning occurs: safety, concern?
Duck and cover/severe weather drills happen a couple times a year. Not sure what they do these days but when I was a kid in Wisconsin they took you to a fortified area on the lowest level of the building and made you put your hands behind your head and your head between your legs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alooper
3. If your entire family is out in a public area (on a weekend) what do you do if a tornado forms near you?
Tornadoes usually form at the trailing edge of a storm so if you're outside when one is spinning up you've probably already been pelted by hail, strong winds, heavy rain, and had the bejeezus scared out of you by frequent lightning and thunder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alooper
4. How far away can you be from a tornado before it is "too late?"
Depends on the speed of the storm, the wind speeds inside the funnel, and the overall size of the funnel itself. Most of the tornadoes in the US are EF3 or lower. The funnels are typically less than a few hundred yards in diameter, and most don't travel more than a few miles on the ground. They are far more destructive than a hurricane, but their damage is also limited to an exponentially smaller area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alooper
5. Do people own tornado shelters in their homes -- how do you protect yourselves?
Some do, but most don't. The typical tornado procedure involves hunkering down in an interior room on the lowest level of the house, preferably away from exterior walls and windows. You're most likely to meet your maker in a tornado due to being struck by flying debris.
Compared to the earth quake activity in Fresno - you are fine to move to Fort. Worth.
1. Do tornadoes happen at night when you're asleep?
Yes, no FP announcement (sorry)
2. How is it when you have children in Elementary school and a tornado warning occurs: safety, concern?
Schools are prepared.
3. If your entire family is out in a public area (on a weekend) what do you do if a tornado forms near you?
Common sense, it does not "form around you".
4. How far away can you be from a tornado before it is "too late?"
Too late for what?
5. Do people own tornado shelters in their homes -- how do you protect yourselves?
We have one, it has been sitting there for 3 years next to the whole house generator
Tornados are no more or less a concern in Texas than earthquakes are in California... of course you can't check to see if you're house has been built on a fault line. The news is good about reporting it. Schools drill for it. People generally know to look out for it (and it's not like they come completely out of nowhere - you're going to have a major thunderstorm going on in almost all cases).
I will say that Californians have an almost comical concept of what a tornado is and how it works (and that is, sadly, reflected in TV/Film depictions... except for, maybe Twister). Yes, tornados can and do happen day or night (I'll admit that the ones at night are a little more frightening, but, since as I mentioned there is probably going to be a major thunderstorm happening, it's not like you're going to be able to see them all that well during the daytime anyway). The biggest thing you've got to get out of your head is any comparison to hurricanes. Tornados are completely different. I've seen tv shows that act like tornados have a clear and predictable path that you know about well in advance as with a hurricane that you can get out of the way of - they don't... they can change directions without warning, hop over neighborhoods or just randomly fizzle out. I once even saw a show that tried to depict tornados as having a calm eye like a hurricane... this is just plain stupid - it's the strongest part of a tornado. But even though tornados are unpredictable once they've hit the ground, they are generally going to follow the path of the thunderstorm, so once that passes, you're pretty much in the clear.
In major thunderstorms where people can expect a tornado or five, people will keep an eye on the news and the weather radar, the weather service will issue a tornado watch (meaning one could happen) or a tornado warning (meaning there is one or more that has been seen) that are issued on a county-by-county basis... meaning if you're anywhere in that county, there's a potential threat (weather people on the news might tell you if they know that they are going on in a particular part of the county, but otherwised you just take it as the county as a whole being on the look out or taking cover).
In practically all except for the most severe tornados, most people will just go to the sturdiest, most central location of the house (i.e. in a central closet or under the stairs). Some homes (usually pre-WWII) have basements, some people have installed storm shelters (some of which can be installed in a garage now for a few thousand dollars). But most people just try to hunker down in a safe part of the house if they think that a tornado is right there on them (it'll sound like a freight train coming a lot of the times or the good people on the news will tell you to take shelter - there are also tornado sirens that will probably go off). The thing that'll get you killed is to try to get in your car and outrun it - first of all, you don't know where it's going and you might not have a safe way of getting away from it by the time you think you've figured that out.
Bottom line is, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Also, of the cities you've listed... choose Fort Worth.
Compared to the earth quake activity in Fresno - you are fine to move to Fort. Worth.
1. Do tornadoes happen at night when you're asleep?
Yes, no FP announcement (sorry)
2. How is it when you have children in Elementary school and a tornado warning occurs: safety, concern?
Schools are prepared.
3. If your entire family is out in a public area (on a weekend) what do you do if a tornado forms near you?
Common sense, it does not "form around you".
4. How far away can you be from a tornado before it is "too late?"
Too late for what?
5. Do people own tornado shelters in their homes -- how do you protect yourselves?
We have one, it has been sitting there for 3 years next to the whole house generator
------
1. What is an FP ANNOUNCEMENT?
2. HOW?
3. I said "form near you'" not around you... come on now?
4. Obviously I am implying too late for not making it to shelter for safety since this is what the post is about? Really?
5. Have you used it?
It really boils down to the argument between what is possible vs. what is likely. Is it possible for an EF4 or EF5 to take out a part of the metroplex? Absolutely. Is it likely? No.
If, on the very remote chance one that strong does hit your house, your chances of survival are a crapshoot.
Yes. The humidity level in DFW is high enough that under the right atmospheric conditions tornadoes can occur late into the evening and overnight hours.
Duck and cover/severe weather drills happen a couple times a year. Not sure what they do these days but when I was a kid in Wisconsin they took you to a fortified area on the lowest level of the building and made you put your hands behind your head and your head between your legs.
Tornadoes usually form at the trailing edge of a storm so if you're outside when one is spinning up you've probably already been pelted by hail, strong winds, heavy rain, and had the bejeezus scared out of you by frequent lightning and thunder.
Depends on the speed of the storm, the wind speeds inside the funnel, and the overall size of the funnel itself. Most of the tornadoes in the US are EF3 or lower. The funnels are typically less than a few hundred yards in diameter, and most don't travel more than a few miles on the ground. They are far more destructive than a hurricane, but their damage is also limited to an exponentially smaller area.
Some do, but most don't. The typical tornado procedure involves hunkering down in an interior room on the lowest level of the house, preferably away from exterior walls and windows. You're most likely to meet your maker in a tornado due to being struck by flying debris.
Tornados are no more or less a concern in Texas than earthquakes are in California... of course you can't check to see if you're house has been built on a fault line. The news is good about reporting it. Schools drill for it. People generally know to look out for it (and it's not like they come completely out of nowhere - you're going to have a major thunderstorm going on in almost all cases).
I will say that Californians have an almost comical concept of what a tornado is and how it works (and that is, sadly, reflected in TV/Film depictions... except for, maybe Twister). Yes, tornados can and do happen day or night (I'll admit that the ones at night are a little more frightening, but, since as I mentioned there is probably going to be a major thunderstorm happening, it's not like you're going to be able to see them all that well during the daytime anyway). The biggest thing you've got to get out of your head is any comparison to hurricanes. Tornados are completely different. I've seen tv shows that act like tornados have a clear and predictable path that you know about well in advance as with a hurricane that you can get out of the way of - they don't... they can change directions without warning, hop over neighborhoods or just randomly fizzle out. I once even saw a show that tried to depict tornados as having a calm eye like a hurricane... this is just plain stupid - it's the strongest part of a tornado. But even though tornados are unpredictable once they've hit the ground, they are generally going to follow the path of the thunderstorm, so once that passes, you're pretty much in the clear.
In major thunderstorms where people can expect a tornado or five, people will keep an eye on the news and the weather radar, the weather service will issue a tornado watch (meaning one could happen) or a tornado warning (meaning there is one or more that has been seen) that are issued on a county-by-county basis... meaning if you're anywhere in that county, there's a potential threat (weather people on the news might tell you if they know that they are going on in a particular part of the county, but otherwised you just take it as the county as a whole being on the look out or taking cover).
In practically all except for the most severe tornados, most people will just go to the sturdiest, most central location of the house (i.e. in a central closet or under the stairs). Some homes (usually pre-WWII) have basements, some people have installed storm shelters (some of which can be installed in a garage now for a few thousand dollars). But most people just try to hunker down in a safe part of the house if they think that a tornado is right there on them (it'll sound like a freight train coming a lot of the times or the good people on the news will tell you to take shelter - there are also tornado sirens that will probably go off). The thing that'll get you killed is to try to get in your car and outrun it - first of all, you don't know where it's going and you might not have a safe way of getting away from it by the time you think you've figured that out.
Bottom line is, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Also, of the cities you've listed... choose Fort Worth.
----
I appreciate all of the feedback. It is quite comical I can imagine. Thanks again.
It's a natural disaster risk: my experience is there are no guarantees is
Quote:
Originally Posted by RMFW
Tornados are no more or less a concern in Texas than earthquakes are in California... of course you can't check to see if you're house has been built on a fault line. The news is good about reporting it. Schools drill for it. People generally know to look out for it (and it's not like they come completely out of nowhere - you're going to have a major thunderstorm going on in almost all cases).
I will say that Californians have an almost comical concept of what a tornado is and how it works (and that is, sadly, reflected in TV/Film depictions... except for, maybe Twister). Yes, tornados can and do happen day or night (I'll admit that the ones at night are a little more frightening, but, since as I mentioned there is probably going to be a major thunderstorm happening, it's not like you're going to be able to see them all that well during the daytime anyway). The biggest thing you've got to get out of your head is any comparison to hurricanes. Tornados are completely different. I've seen tv shows that act like tornados have a clear and predictable path that you know about well in advance as with a hurricane that you can get out of the way of - they don't... they can change directions without warning, hop over neighborhoods or just randomly fizzle out. I once even saw a show that tried to depict tornados as having a calm eye like a hurricane... this is just plain stupid - it's the strongest part of a tornado. But even though tornados are unpredictable once they've hit the ground, they are generally going to follow the path of the thunderstorm, so once that passes, you're pretty much in the clear.
In major thunderstorms where people can expect a tornado or five, people will keep an eye on the news and the weather radar, the weather service will issue a tornado watch (meaning one could happen) or a tornado warning (meaning there is one or more that has been seen) that are issued on a county-by-county basis... meaning if you're anywhere in that county, there's a potential threat (weather people on the news might tell you if they know that they are going on in a particular part of the county, but otherwised you just take it as the county as a whole being on the look out or taking cover).
In practically all except for the most severe tornados, most people will just go to the sturdiest, most central location of the house (i.e. in a central closet or under the stairs). Some homes (usually pre-WWII) have basements, some people have installed storm shelters (some of which can be installed in a garage now for a few thousand dollars). But most people just try to hunker down in a safe part of the house if they think that a tornado is right there on them (it'll sound like a freight train coming a lot of the times or the good people on the news will tell you to take shelter - there are also tornado sirens that will probably go off). The thing that'll get you killed is to try to get in your car and outrun it - first of all, you don't know where it's going and you might not have a safe way of getting away from it by the time you think you've figured that out.
Bottom line is, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Also, of the cities you've listed... choose Fort Worth.
Hi! I bolded sections of RMFW's post instead of typing the same thing. Couldn't have said it better myself. I've had the dubious distinction of sitting through several of these things and I'm still here. My grandparents who live in far NW TX have a storm cellar and kids grow up around here knowing where the safe place is in the event of a bad storm or tornado. TX is a great state and I am a FW native and love the town. Do your school research.
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