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Old 05-05-2015, 11:51 AM
 
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How concerned should a person be about tornadoes in OKC? I've never been there but I'm looking for a place that has affordable rent so I can save as much as possible. Does OKC ever get REALLY bad tornadoes?
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Old 05-05-2015, 12:25 PM
 
Location: Pawnee Nation
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It's Oklahoma. Tornadoes are a fact of life. 99% of tornadoes are small and not too bad (they don't do massive amounts of damage). On the other hand, if you get a direct hit, it doesn't really matter how big it is or how much collateral damage there is, it can hurt you.

Most of the people in OKC have never seen a tornado. The ONLY way to not be hurt in one is to have a shelter. FWIW, OKC get less activity than the area north of there. I think I heard once that Noble county has more tornadoes than anywhere else. But anywhere can have a tornado. Therefore anywhere can have a "bad" one.
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Old 05-05-2015, 12:44 PM
 
779 posts, read 928,338 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodpasture View Post
It's Oklahoma. Tornadoes are a fact of life. 99% of tornadoes are small and not too bad (they don't do massive amounts of damage). On the other hand, if you get a direct hit, it doesn't really matter how big it is or how much collateral damage there is, it can hurt you.

Most of the people in OKC have never seen a tornado. The ONLY way to not be hurt in one is to have a shelter. FWIW, OKC get less activity than the area north of there. I think I heard once that Noble county has more tornadoes than anywhere else. But anywhere can have a tornado. Therefore anywhere can have a "bad" one.
What do you mean by, "If you get a direct hit"?
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Old 05-05-2015, 12:55 PM
 
Location: The Republic of Gilead
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It's true that most tornadoes are small and don't do the kind of damage the Moore tornado did two years ago. Tornado risk is a fact of life here however especially during the month of May. OKC is the most tornado prone major city in the country. That said, it does seem like most tornadoes either go north or south of the main body of the city. Moore has had especially bad luck. On the other hand I am not sure downtown OKC has ever had a direct hit. Most people hear learn to accept the risk in the same way that people in hurricane, earthquake, or volcanic zones accept living there.
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Old 05-05-2015, 02:16 PM
 
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Default A direct hit

A lot of "tornado damage" to structures is not the result of the tornado actually hitting the structure; much of the time, debris is carried by the storm, and ends up causing more damage when it hits something.

For example, in the June 8th, 1972 tornado in Tulsa (supposed the first on ever to hit Tulsa), a twelve plus foot piece of joist was wrenched off of the Shakey's Pizza restaurant (along with most of the roof) and ended up in my backyard, about 1/2 mile away. Just a block south of my house a forty foot tall Oak tree was picked up, turned upside down, a dropped back to earth just 20 feet or so from where it started. Of course, the brand new, still with the window sticker on the window For Thunderbird it landed on suffered a bit.

If Shakey' (or the tree, for that matter) had been hit directly, there would have been far more damage. They both just "got too close".

When the storm hit Moore, for example, there was just about nothing left.
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Old 05-06-2015, 09:10 PM
 
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Hope everyone down there is OK? Trying to reach a friend in Norman to check on her her, but appears cell service is limited.
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Old 05-07-2015, 12:33 AM
 
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Thank you Johnny. I haven't heard of any deaths, there are quite a few injuries though. We're fortunate to get a lot of advance notice. Heres a link for pictures. Go about halfway down the page. I hope your friend is OK. NewsOK.com
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Old 05-07-2015, 02:11 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LongNote View Post
How concerned should a person be about tornadoes in OKC? I've never been there but I'm looking for a place that has affordable rent so I can save as much as possible. Does OKC ever get REALLY bad tornadoes?
Yes, they do. But, we have a great National Weather Center here, so we usually know well in advance that a tornado is coming. Here are some pictures from todays tornadoes. Halfway down the page.
NewsOK.com
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Old 05-07-2015, 07:21 AM
 
Location: OKIE-Ville
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LongNote View Post
How concerned should a person be about tornadoes in OKC? I've never been there but I'm looking for a place that has affordable rent so I can save as much as possible. Does OKC ever get REALLY bad tornadoes?
As Jess said, we have a lot of advance notice here.

We have the South-Central Weather Center (South Central Climate Science Center | About Us) and some of the best weathermen around on the major news stations. I thought David Payme did a great job with coverage and Mike Morgan is always solid. Of course, we also have the living legend Gary England.

Last edited by Bass&Catfish2008; 05-07-2015 at 07:51 AM..
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Old 05-07-2015, 11:35 AM
 
Location: Deer Creek/Edmond, OKla
664 posts, read 2,095,124 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LongNote View Post
How concerned should a person be about tornadoes in OKC? I've never been there but I'm looking for a place that has affordable rent so I can save as much as possible. Does OKC ever get REALLY bad tornadoes?
Do the events from yesterday change your mind at all? Most anyone here has a shelter or a safe place to go or an escape plan...we learn to live with it and "keep an eye to the sky". News stations will keep you overly informed about weather, but we have the best equipment and personnel here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodpasture View Post
Most of the people in OKC have never seen a tornado.
I hear people say they have lived here their whole life and have never seen a tornado... I have lived here since 93 and have seen about half a dozen and I don't even chase them. Maybe I am just lucky.... or not lucky depends on which way you look at it I guess.
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