Best Place to Live for Tornadoes

[Verne Carlson]

I would say that if you could pinpoint a geometric center of tornado alley it would be Hays, KS. The DOW bases out of there for that reason and the fact that it is slightly more populated because of Fort Hays State Univ.

When I was looking to buy a place I actually went down the highway to Russell where home prices where roughly half. We bought a nice 3 bdrm, 1 bath, 1400 sq ft home for $29k. Taxes are $700/yr, utils $200mo in the coldest month so far. Of course to eat at any decent restaurants we drive back 20 mins to Hays but that works out okay. My 2 cents..

 

[mikegeukes]

Since 2001, Kansas is the hotspot for tornadoes.
Some stats, I found.
2001: 105 Tornadoes Reported.
2002: 95 Tornadoes Reported.
2003: 92 Tornadoes Reported.
2004: 124 Tornadoes Reported.
2005: 134 Tornadoes Reported.
2006: 92 Tornadoes Reported.
2007: 137 Tornadoes Reported.
2008: 187 Tornadoes Reported.(Preliminary)

I would like to move to Kansas someday or back to Nebraska.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

That’s huge IMO, I hate nothing more than a long drive back West at the end of the day; and on top of that, I don't know why, as it doesn't make much sense, but if my chase ends in North Platte NE, and I have to drive 300 miles back East at the end of the day, it bothers me so much less than a 300 mile drive in the direction of West from Davenport IA to get home. And more importantly, chasing East of home sucks as you start out thinking your not that far from home, only then does the chase end and you realize you might as well visit the Atlantic as opposed to returning home. I truly feel sorry for the Denver/Colorado chasers...

I'm just the opposite. I absolutely HATE having to drive back to Wisconsin after chasing in IA, MN, NE, or the Dakotas. Nothing is worse than a 4-8 hour drive back home in a menacing MCS. Hour after hour of pouring rain and hazardous road conditions with standing water. I would MUCH rather drive west into high pressure and have a nice calm, clear trip home after a long chase day.

 

[Shane Adams]

I agree with Scott. The only saving grace to getting suckered east into chasing Arkansas and Missouri is the easy drive back home. And since I'm always the late-night driver, that's a huge selling point for me.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Ive debated where in Kansas I want to move for years. For the time being I was thinking Pratt. Growing up in Chicago Ive about had it with big cities. I always find myself longing for a town just big enough to have a few bars and some things to do...yet not so far away from everything. Pretty good N S E and W options and its only an hour away from the interstate.

Some of you bring up a good point about the drive after a chase. One thing I do like about driving from Chicago is that on most big setups I drive through some sort of storm on the way there...and then on the way back...even if its a dying MCS. Thunder and lightning and hail is just that...and I still enjoy it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I agree a huge MCS accompanying an eastward drive is not fun. On Feb 4-5 last year, I was in one for 6 hours straight all the way across Kentucky in what should have been a 3 hour drive. I was still hydroplaning even at 40 mph.

However, most of my drives eastward in the Plains have begun late enough (after eating dinner and/or shooting lightning photos) to allow any MCS to get far enough east to minimize its impact. If I'm driving for 3 or more hours, I might catch up to it again, but I'll usually stop for the night before then. The worst ones are the early/late season ones that scream east at 50+mph. The slower ones you can usually break out ahead of them after 30-40 minutes.

 

[Richard Dickson]

I would vote for my old home town for forty years of El Dorado, Kansas. Population of about 12,500, less than thirty minutes to Wichita with 350,000 and everything it has to offer, great road network, very affordable living, 8,000 acre reservoir and all that offers for recreation, start out going west to intercept the storms and wind up close to home at night, very friendly people and good schools, already been hit by one tornado, so you know they are in the area, spectacular sunsets. Wait a minute... what am I doing in Arizona? I keep thinking about moving back, but I've gotten 'sissified' and hate to leave the warm desert in the winter.

 

[Teri Mooney]

I was in a hurry when I asked this question earlier. I am thinking of moving by either Wichita, Kansas City, or somewhere in-between to be near family. I run a medical transcription business out of my home so I'm lucky/blessed so I can move where I'd like. Thanks for all the responses. I had thought about El Dorado.

I had to laugh when I read about Stockton. Stockton always gets hit with baseball size hail & high winds. I live 22 miles north in Phillipsburg. I know I live in a great area, although nothing much happens here. Stockton's house prices are about to go even further as I hear the prison there is going to be shutting down. Not much there anyway. Good place to retire I guess. Not many jobs around this area right now.

Thanks for all of your input. Wish I was rich, I'd have a home in several places in KS, NE, OK, TX. That's my plan if I win the lottery.

 

[Jim Smiley]

I live SE of Dodge City. I think the idea of living in Pratt would be my choice if I was moving here. I have a nephew who lives there and it a nice clean town and put you in the middle of most of the starting points for severe storms for the last 8-10 years. The DOW stations in Hays but you hardly see near the amount of tornados there as you do in the South. I went to college for 3 years there and hardly saw a severe storm at all. Most of the last several years the storms have been forming on OK, KS border south of Protection and Sitka moving NE. The one that hit Greensburg in 07 and the one that skipped over Greensburg last year both started by Protection. In years past, like the Andover tornado they started between Medicine Lodge and Anthony, so that would still be an easy reach. Three hours in any direction would cover a lot of hot territory. Just MHO.

 

[B. Kendrick]

Personaly from chasing in this area I would say that Pratt, Kansas would be a great location to live.

 

[Mike Johnston]

Having lived in both Wichita and KC, I'll chip in w/ a few comments.

From a pure chasing perspective, it's hard to go wrong with Wichita as a home base. Besides the local mini-alley of Kingman/Harper/Sumner/southern Sedgwick counties right in your back yard, you have great access to the highest frequency areas in most seasons. Wichita is a very easy place to get around in, the population is weather-wise, and there is good weather coverage by the local media.

KC probably offers more in terms of cultural and entertainment opportunities, yet is still proximate to good chasing grounds. I would definitely favor the Kansas side over the Missouri side - better immediate access to points west. If kids are a factor, you'll probably find better school districts on the Kansas side.

Both are great places to live, IMO, especially if for a chaser. I would give Kansas City some edge in terms of overall quality of life, but Wichita is just fine in its own right.

 

[Patrick Romans]

Maybe I'm a little biased from growing up around this area but I'll have to agree with those who said anywhere from Pratt to Wichita to El Dorado. With Wichita expanding into the nearby smaller communities those property values are growing but drive 30 minutes either way and and it's not as bad. Wichita offers good roads in any direction with I-35, US 54 and the others. Almost every chase trip begins with me making the drive to Wichita. I makes a great home base area IMO.

However it seemed to me over the last two years the Kansas epicenter seemed to move away from the Harper County and more towards the Hill City, Stockton area. I know I spent a good deal of time now casting for friend of mine who works for the Phillips County Sheriff's Office.

Maybe this would be a good time to add that I'm trying to sell my grandfathers house here in Eureka? Property value is low, low taxes, pretty country... Any takers?

 

[Shane Adams]

Pretty much all of the places mentioned could be great bases, but it's important to remember that you'll want to seek out long-term (for humans anyway) climotology when picking an area based off of chasing. In three years there might not be anybody heading to NW Kansas during storm season, because all the action's moved southwest to the TX panhandle.

I'd base my choice (if I was a transplant looking to move to the Alley) on where I wanted to live period. From there, you just do the driving where ever the chase takes you. That's why I live in Norman. Might not be the shortest distance from the hotspots in a given year, but it's consistent enough...plus, this is where I would be living if I wasn't a chaser.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

If I could support myself on the plains and find interesting ways to pass the time, I'd probably head out to Salina or Hays. Good, central locations and can easily head north or south for wherever things are happening.

There are too many other considerations to factor in, though, along the lines of Shane's post above. Like making a living, quality of life, family/relationships and other things to enjoy about the place you live. For me, all of these are met well in Kansas City, and I'm close enough to the action to get out there from time to time without it severely impacting my job.

 

[Steve Miller]

I'm with Mike, I would go with Salina as it has good interstates and is central to everything and big enough to support a reasonable amount of business for employment and comfort purposes.