Seattle to WI. tornado? where to avoid? (Madison, Green Bay: fit in, houses)

[laurabf]

Hi all,

Seattle local looking for change to small town, possibly WI. I didn't realize until looking at informational maps on tornados how prevalent they are in WI. Is this true and what areas fair better?

Thanks!
Laura

[svicious22]

South-central WI seems worst for tornadoes just from memory, but not sure if stats back that up. Tornadoes are not a major concern in WI for most, though they do certainly occur.

[Candy T]

I've always thought that the closer to Lake Michigan you are, the better off you are. You can google "tornado tracks Wisconsin" and get some ideas. It's not the hot spot of the nation for activity, thankfully.

My hubby and I used to live in Indiana but we were close to Lake Michigan. Indiana gets way more tornado activity than Wisconsin but we seemed to be safe in Hammond (but it was a metro area with polluted air). We just moved to Hartford, Wisconsin, which is in Washington County.

[soldn2slavery]

"Small" is relative. Compared to Seattle, Madison could be considered a small town. How small of a town are you considering? What amenities are "must-haves" for you? What type of employment are you looking for?

As a resident of a Wisconsin small town in the Fox Valley, I can tell you that it is a bit of a challenge to fit in. Most of these towns are made up a people who are 3rd- or 4th-generation residents. They have their family and circle of friends and it's tough to be allowed in. When we moved to our town, I asked our dentist how long he had lived here. He said, "Not very long. About 25 years." At the time, that statement seemed odd to be as a former Air Force brat who moved every 3 years or so. However, after living here and talking to folks, I understood that, indeed, 25 years is not very long compared to being a generational resident.

While I'm not particularly enamored with my small town, I do like the area. Appleton and Green Bay are close by and they provide decent (again, relative dining, entertainment, and employment options. It's close to Lake Michigan and Door County. If you need a big city experience, Chicago is a 3-hour drive. If you want to get really away, you can go north and experience the Upper Peninsula. (It won't be the Cascades, but it is very pretty).

One thing that I found particularly interesting in Wisconsin is the fact that there are some major employers whose headquarters are tucked away in some small towns.

As far as tornadoes go, we don't have that much IMHO. I don't think we're considered to be in the tornado belt and I wouldn't let it deter you from considering the area. I find earthquakes and volcanic eruptions more disconcerting than tornadoes, having dealt with both.

[CtrlEsc]

In Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, tornados are more prevalent. The same wind pattern that makes Chicago the Windy City travels down the corridor between Janesville WI and Rochelle IL. It's not uncommon to have several tornados a year including derechos (hurricane force winds or side-ways tornados.)


The further north you get from Janesville the less prevalent they become. Most cities have tornado sirens that warn the residents to head for shelter. They get tested on a weekly basis.




I moved to the Fox Valley area three years ago. It's a nice area with plenty of outdoor activities. There are multiple versions of the big box stores here. Unemployment is low but a degree is mandatory for professional work. People are friendly and inclusive. You will find both transplant and generational families here. No tornados so far...

[AminWi]

South-west and south central Wisconsin see the most tornadoes, but even here they aren't very common. We usually have a handful of warnings each year, but in the 20 years I've lived in this part of the state I can only think of 2 that have done actual damage in our metro area. Most houses here have basements, too, so you do have a safe place to shelter.

[No Happy]

Tornadoes aren't too common around the Wausau area. A few years back Merrill (just a bit north of Wausau) did get hit pretty good by one, but that's a rarity.

[Ragnar]

2 years ago Verona (a few miles SW of Madison) had a pretty big tornado roll through overnight. About a dozen houses were significantly damaged as well as an elementary school, but I don't think anyone died. I live ~4 miles from the touchdown zone. It was a scary night for sure.

[Mandy2]

It's weird, because growing up in the Fox Valley area I felt like we had tornado warnings often but now it seems like the southern part of the state gets them more.

[AminWi]

Originally Posted by Mandy2

It's weird, because growing up in the Fox Valley area I felt like we had tornado warnings often but now it seems like the southern part of the state gets them more.

Maybe they weren't as frequent as you remember, but were memorable because they were scary?