Torn Between Houston or Dallas

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I don't deny the real danger of tornadoes if you happen to be unfortunate enough to get hit by one. I have a great uncle who was killed in one.

What I am saying is in Dallas they are rare enough to the point that they statistically should have no effect on living there. For example Delta Air Lines Flight 191 which crashed at DFW and killed 137 people in 1985 has, as far as I can tell, killed more people than tornadoes have in Dallas Country in all of recorded history.

While certainly less likely, Houston also can and does get occasional tornadoes. In either city, if one landed in the wrong place it could kill thousands of people, but that hasn't happened yet.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...on-1818187.php

Lots of cities have similar or higher tornado risk than Dallas.

With the unpredictability of tornadoes and the higher risk of the higher EFs inland (like Jarrell), I'm surprised that tornado shelters (whether purpose built bunkers or reinforced basements) are not common in the northern parts of the state. But since Texas prioritizes cost over lives, this is not a surprise.

With the moderating effect of the coastal climate inhibiting tornado formation (and lessening intensity if one does form), hurricane winds are more of a concern especially if the eye passes over the immediate Houston metro. I've been pushing to get hurricane reinforcement clips installed on the frame of every new house.

When I built my current house 15 years ago, I asked my builder representative if there was anyway to have hurricane clips installed on the joints of the house. Turns out if it wasn't on the option list, then it isn't offered.

Since this is an unincorporated area, there aren't a lot of regulations the county can impose by state law. But they do have to comply with the city's building codes if it's in an ETJ. Only problem is that the inspectors won't be able to enforce the codes. Thus is Texas!

[katygirl68]

Originally Posted by DavePa

I'm sure Houstonians will thank you for making sure all there recent heavy rain events and flooding..... has newer data increase Houston's yearly rainfall averages past Atlanta's to highlight here. I could think of some better reasons Houston wants to beat Atlanta on I'm sure.

Yeah, I was here during Harvey when we got 52” of rain in 72 hours. It’s more than our average annual rainfall. But, we have also had several major flooding events in the 2010s (what are we going to call this decade?)

We had the Memorial Day Flood in 2015, then 11 months later we had the Tax Day Flood. Then the following year we had Hurricane Harvey. Two 500 year storms and a 1,000 year storm in three years (or . Let’s hope we break that cycle in 2018.

[KStoNYtoILtoTX]

Ax

[Matadora]

Originally Posted by OceanViewer

I'm not torn any longer. Houston is my choice of the two cities. I think Houston would be a good fit for me because of its diversity, more things to do, business opportunities, warmer winters, fewer chances of tornados, and some other things mentioned in this long informative thread. I also like having the option of taking a quick drive to view the ocean from time to time. After all, my forum title is OceanViewer

I think you made a wise choice. Houston has a lot to offer and you will find lot's of friendly helpful people.

[SouthernBoy205]

Congrats on your decision! You’ll love Houston.