jekler, it would be nice to be able to pinpoint natural disasters ahead of time but unfortunately, it isn't a possibility.

I would pinpoint your other criteria and concentrate on those things.

If I'm not mistaken, Arkansas experienced some very heavy rains and flooding from one of the hurricanes that hit Florida this year.

North Louisiana doesn't get tornadoes??? I live in central Mississippi and from what I've noticed, tornadoes can hit anywhere around the south or anywhere they wish to hit for that matter.
Wouldn't your relatives know about the school situations in the area they live in. If not, most states have a department of education web site which lists vital school statistics such as test scores, poverty, race, etc....
I've driven through Arkansas several times and stayed in the state twice. Most areas seem nice enough.
Hope your move is successful.

Hi,thanks for the replies.Yes,I'm aware you can't actually pin point natural disasters,but that doesn't mean we can't tell where they most commonly occur.,Yes Louisiana has some tornadoes,but Fort Smith is only about 177 miles away from Oklahoma City(which has the most tornadoes in the U.S.)According to sperlings best places to live,on a scale of 0-10,10 being the worst for having tornadoes,Fort Smith gets a 6.0,while Van Buren gets a 3.0 even though they're only a bridge apart.Yes my in-laws know a little about the schools,and I have been doing lots of research on many,many schools' criteria to see which ones are the best in which cities.I was just wondering what peoples personal preferences are about the best places to live there.I want to live close to Fort Smith,as I have never been to many of the surrounding cities such as Paragould and Siloam Springs I just wanted to know what other people thought.Thanks again.

jekler, pointing out where natural disasters occur most often doesn't mean squat.

Look at Floridians.

If you asked them one year ago if hurricanes are a threat to Florida, I'd bet money, in fact I can find you old threads, where people stated hurricanes were not a problem in Florida.

Ask them today.

Your theory is seriously flawed. You cannot predict where a natural disaster is most likely to occur.

You can look at past tornados to see where they have occured but it does not mean that they are any more or any less likely to occur in that location.

My Mother has lived in Bella Vista/ Bentonville Arkansas for 12 years now
and there has never been a tornado where she lives. Fort smith is about 80 miles west from her. North west Arkansas is very Beautiful.

HELLO-tornado alley is called that because that's where they most commonly occur!Yes you can predict where a natural disaster is likely to occur by looking at past occurances!I am well aware that a tornado can happen anywhere,but it is a fact that Oklahoma city has more than any other city in the U.S.So,by knowing that you could reasonably say there will probably be more. And if somebody in Florida says hurricanes are not a problem I think they would be seriously flawed in the head,does anybody remember Andrew,ohh I guess that wasn't a problem?!!I could care less what old threads say,I've known hurricanes hit Florida since I was a little girl.It's called common knowledge.This is a rediculous conversation.Thanks to jeffwill4you for actually tring to be helpfull.

Oops! 80 miles EAST of her

Respectfully to all:

GoTravel, jekler's theory is not "seriously flawed." The city of Ft. Smith sustained quite serious damage from a tornado in the mid-1990's, and funnel clouds are a regular occurrence in the spring and fall. (I live 90 miles west of the area). The threat, while maybe not continuous, is real enough that an outsider would feel some trepidation.

While I personally wouldn't let that deter me from making a move that would otherwise be beneficial, I certainly wouldn't question another person's right to be concerned.

Jekler -- The weather around here can certainly be lively, but one adapts after awhile. The weathermen are *very* careful about tracking storms and sounding alarms, etc. (sometimes too careful!)so we feel very safe. How old is your son? Sounds like this will be a big change, but I'm sure it will be fine. Good luck!

Actually, Brookside, jekler's theory that is "seriously flawed" is one you didn't mention in your post. The theory that moving to a place that in the past has had lower tornado activity means it will be safer in the future. The entire area is tornado-zone, and there's no way to know next year or 100 years from now which cities will be the hardest hit.

That, I believe, is what GoTravel is referring to. Pick someplace that you want to live and move there, despite the tornadoes. If you're in tornado country you can't feel safe because your particular town or area of town has had lower incidences of tornadoes in the past.

Northern Louisiana is more apt to experience "Tornado" weather in March and April, just like here in Alabama. Tornado Alley tornadoes occur more in April and May. But tornadoes can occur at any time of the year in any state. California had tornadoes just a few days ago. Granted they're not the monsters of Oklahoma/Texas/Kansas.... One of the most destructive tornadoes in US history hit Ohio back in 1974 on that fateful day where almost the entire eastern half of the US had severe weather. Kentucky and Alabama were also hit hard on that day. In 1998, Birmingham had a F5 (and some say possibly the first F6) hit west of town. Oklahoma City (especially Moore) had the most monitored (and most destructive) tornado in years hit in 1999. Shreveport has had a major hit recently. Basically, you're really no more likely to experience "more" tornadoes in Arkansas than what you already experience in Northern Louisiana. Just monitor the weather and have a safe place to go.

First I'd like to say I appreciate everybodys responses,I am 22,my son just turned 4,I know everybody with kids thinks this,but mine is the best in world!=) Say there are two cities beside each other,past history shows that one gets signifantly hit by more tornadoes,I think I'll take the other.There is no telling what tomorrow may bring,and I 'm not gonna let that stop me from moving,yeah I will be somewhat fearfull, I have already told my husband that where ever we go I want a storm shelter.Believe me,I over analize everything!!Ever since we decided to move there I keep having nightmares(seriously about 15 so far) that we're in our new house and get hit by tornadoes.It's just something that scares me.I was never really scared of anything till my son came along,now I worry endlessly. And I don't believe I ever had a theory,as everybody keeps saying jeklers theory,I know anything can happen at any time,what is true for today may not be true for tomorrow.But what's the saying about those who ignore the past are destin to repeat it.One last thing,we're kinda poor,really,we're saving every dime we get to make this move,I can't just move somewhere then decide I don't like it and move again.I just want to make the right decision,that's why I wanted to hear from other people who live around there.

Excuse me -- but in reading everyone's posts, there really does seem to be an implication -- intentional or otherwise --that jekler is wrong to be concerned. Sure such things may not matter to a lot of you, but it obviously matters to jekler a lot.

I'm sure there was no intention to be unkind, but it definitely comes accross that way. Jekler was looking for a little reassurance and instead she was all but flamed.

If one were to believe news reports we get in the northeast, it appears that tornadoes only hit trailer parks - so steer clear of them!

And don't worry too much about the tornadoes. After all it all worked out for Dorothy in the end.

Jekler -- Your posts are very hard to read. Remember to add returns between paragraphs and spaces after periods and commas.

I live in Illinois, about 20 miles from St. Louis, and we too live in "tornado alley". However, it honestly sounds worse than it is. There have been tornados that have touched down, and a few have done extensive damage, but most are small and do little damage other than blowing some trees down and a few shingles off roofs. We do get tornado warnings in spring/summer but they rarely amount to anything more than heavy winds. The tornado warnings are issued in advance and usually leave plenty of time to get to safety in the rare event that something does happen. I would much rather live in a tornado zone than a hurricane zone!

Its almost impossible to live somewhere where at least some form of natural disaster does not happen. I definitely wouldn't let it be the deciding factor when choosing where to live.

Tell me about it!
I lived in nice calm weathered NYC for years! We could depend on snow in winter, maybe ice. We knew it would be hot in the summer with maybe a black out.
Then my husband decided to change our lives..we moved to Florida.
I asked, what about Hurricanes.
The Answer:
They don't ever get Hurricanes in Jacksonville.
We were here for 8 months before the first of 5 hurricanes hit us
My advice, don't worry about the weather..there is nothing you can do about it. It does not matter where you live, they always have weather
Good luck on your move.
I was a very young mother too, had my second when I was 22. You have some lovely fun years ahead of you, enjoy!

jekler,

I completely understand your fears. I moved to Tulsa from San Diego less than a year ago. Our second night in town, a tornado touched down a couple of blocks away, and WE SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. So scary. You know, I lived in Kansas while in high school and kind of enjoyed the excitement that comes along with severe weather, but my perspective has completely changed now that I have young kids and I'm in the protector role. The best advice I can give is get a house with a safe room/storm shelter, a weatherband radio that will wake you up in the middle of the night if there's a tornado warning, and talk with you little boy about tornadoes in a relaxed, controlled way, before you have to rush him to the shelter in a panic.

Good for you for moving closer to family (that's what brought us here, too). It's so important for the kids. The best of luck to you!

Thank you jlm for writing what I was obviously unable to convey.

Of course hurricanes are more likely to happen in hurricane alley than anywhere else but that doesn't mean they won't happen.

Move wherever you want jekler and make the best like you can for your children.

Maybe you could talk to a professional to help with your nightmares.

One summer a couple of years ago when we were in Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach got hit with a tornado. I think it was their first one ever in recorded history.

Hey brookside, if you live 90 to the west of Fort Smith you must live close to my Mother? Do you know Bella Vista?

Jeff, your mother's name is Bella Vista? That's too cool.

Very funny patrick. I mean Bella Vista ARKANSAS! I just wanted to know about where brookside lives because like I said before, There has not been a tornado that has touched down where my mother lives in at least 12 years and she also lives about 80 to 90 mls west of Fort Smith.

I live in northeast MO and I'm still a little on guard when the weather turns bad, but you get used to it. Especially after you have lots of warnings and watches and no tornado. It's good to still take them seriously, though.

But I had a dream once that I was in a hurricane. It was awful. Everyone was evacuated and you knew it was going to hit. All you did was wait for it to come. It was awful. I decided that living with tornados might not be as bad as I thought.

Bella Vista is actually about 80 miles NORTH of Fort Smith.

I've lived 70 miles east of FS in Russellville for twenty years and can only remember one tornado striking near us. Didn't do much damage.

As far as schools in that area go, Alma is about 10 miles east of Van Buren on I-40. Don't how the school district is, but they sure have fancy buses for their high school sports teams. Must be a lot of money in the district, but then again it is the "Spinach Capitol of the World".

Jeff, I'm actually more in Jocelyn's neck of the woods (Tulsa), which, now that I think about it, is probably more than 90 miles.

But I have friends and family who have retired to Bella Vista - it's lovely there. (The whole state is lovely -- wonderful hiking and kayaking!)

Oh, and my brother goes to college in Batesville and my uncle lives in Mt. Home. Batesville seems like a nice small college town and Mt. Home has more of an older population, it seems. I've also been rock climbing at Sam's Throne, which is really cool. I would recommend it.

I get what's being said about the possibility of a tornado happening anywhere, but that doesn't mean the odds of them happening frequently are the same everywhere.

The center to center-south section of the US is the most prone due to the colliding weather patterns here. But the video I saw of the three "sisters" on the beach at Miami were proof that they can happen many places, not to mention how monsterous they can look!

BUT... there are places where they happen more often. Even places close to each other have differences driven by topology that change the likelihood of a tornado. I grew up in one of those places, a little west of St. Louis. My parents moved us some 30 miles away from where they grew up to a nearby town. Their parents told them then that they shouldn't, that they were moving to Tornado Alley. Sure enough, during the next 15 years, our new town was hit by 4 tornados, including one that jumped over my place. Middle of the night, the sky turns emerald green and I had just enough time to say something really awful before it sounded like I was under a freight train. Grandparents town 30 miles away during the same period. Zero.

Hilly areas help break up the ground to cloud air rotation. Doesn't always work, but the Ozarks for instance get a lot fewer tornados than the Missouri or Oklahoma plains on either side of them. I'd bet, not having researched, that areas to the east of Ft. Smith have a relatively "normal" number as compared to the plains across the border.

By the way, if you're outdoorsy, Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri are gorgeous places for hiking, canoeing, caves, etc.

Tornado Alley:

Includes all of Arkansas.

http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornadoalley.jpg

Frequency of Tornados:

http://www.tornadochaser.net/images/frequency.gif

Interesting information from:

http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornalley.html

The 1974 super tornado outbreak took place in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. How many maps include these states in Tornado Alley? Not very many, some don’t include any of them; even I don’t include all of them. States such as Florida also have many small tornadoes but because the intensity of most of them is low, it is seldom considered as part of Tornado Alley by anyone. In 1925 the Tri-State tornado killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, yet many don’t include these in Tornado Alley, I do. In November of 2002 a tornado outbreak took place in Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio, Killing at least 36 people. Friday, September 20th 2002 a tornado outbreak hit Indiana, I include these states in Tornado Alley, many others don't. History tells me Indiana, Ohio, Illlinois, Kentucky and Tenessee are dangerous tornado states

GoT,

That second link is surprising! A big chunk of Kansas is in the same category as most of the Northeast? As you mentioned, I'm sure intensity isn't factored into that data. How many half-mile wide tornados have traveled hundreds of miles on the ground in Maine?

Clifton, thank you for the information about how topography affects tornados. I've been told that our house is relatively safe because there's a big hill to our SW that would act as a ramp, forcing a tornado to jump right over us (I kid you not). Please remind me of that the next time I see green swirling clouds above my head.

Personally, I would rather deal with the tornadoes than an earthquake or hurricane. There's no warning with earthquakes, and both of those cause very widespread damage. Tornado damage is usually very localized. In the Chicago area, there is typically a small tornado or two every few years. There have only been a few that have caused signifcant damage over the past 50 years, and only one of those struck inside the city limits.

So, I'm not thrilled by spring and early summer thunderstorms, but I don't get too concerned about it either. On the other hand, Oklahoma City has had much of the metro area seriously damaged or destroyed by tornadoes over the past decade, so I would be a bit leery about living around there.

Interesting thread because last night we had two tornadoes hit just north of where I live (Sacramento Valley). Not a normal occurance.

A woman was interviewed on the local Sacramento TV station this morning.

She had been in the Marina during the 1989 SF earthquake. She commented that she would take an earthquake anyday over a tornado. Not sure if I would agree but it was an interesting comment.

Powerful tornadoes still happen as often as they used to, and property damage more severe as population grows and property prices go up, but technology has made tornado reporting, if not forcasting, much better. And the loss of lives have been diminished.

Doppler radars can show where the storms are with very high accuracy, and most people have Weather Channel on cable to check the maps.

So, be aware that tornadoes can happen, and if severe thunderstorms are in the area, keep your eyes and ears open for information. Teach you kid and yourself what to do.

And like Jocelyn_P says, maybe look into a house with a safe room. Or reinforced basement. If you're building new, then it's probably worth to pay extra to have one built into it.

Wow, I was surprised to see so many responses, thankyou all. I am going to be prepared as much as humanly possible, but I'm going to try not to worry myself to death. I know we have to move to make a better life and have more opportunities for my son growing up. And myself as well,as I never even spent the first day at high school, I've always stayed home w/Zeke, so now he's about to go to school, I need to do something with myself.Our town has almost nothing, except a paper mill and a wal-mart. For 3 years we've been in a tiny one bedroom apt.,with myself, husband, son, 2 dogs, 2 birds, and 2 girbils(no I'm not starting another Noah's Ark). So tornadoes or not, we're all ready to get the heck out of here!! Just wondering,has anybody been to Devil's Den State Park? It's awesome,can't wait to go back. Tried to make it easier to read,hope it helped(I'm not sure how to add returns).Thank you all again,I sure appreciate everybody's time.

jekler, when your son goes off to school sign up for GED classes and get your GED. Think about what you love to do (something involving animals maybe??) and start taking classes at your local community college towards that end. Just think how fun it will be!

Good luck and don't worry about tornados, you will be fine!

Actually I went to adult ed for a couple of weeks and just recieved my GED last November.Just not sure what to do know,kinda waiting to move to a bigger city.We have a votech here,but only offers about four courses,that I'm totally not interested in(welding, computers, nursing, drafting)

I have lived through several tornadoes and I can tell you first hand they hit more than trailer parks as to the theory they are localized, tell that to the residents of Xenia, Ohio who had almost their whole town destroyed and several other towns flattened in that outbreak. We had several devastating tornadoes in December a couple of years ago, took out a movie theater and expensive lakefront homes on Lake Erie sixty miles away.

Your best bet is to get a good weather radio, have a home with a basement, if you do not have a basement have a plan to seek shelter, have an emergency kit with battery operated radio, flashlight, drinking water, etc. Make sure your important papers are somewhere within easy access. Being prepared and knowing what to do is your best defense.

As long as you are not im the heart of tornado alley you should be fine.

I have lived in Oklahoma City for 25 years, and that 1999 F5 tornado was the only one to even come near our house on the southside. Truth be told, most Oklahoma Citians have yet to incur damage from a tornado. Weather has alwyas been a conversation topic, but I have yet to meet someone who fears constantly about tornados. If you want to be careful, you can purchase such disaster insurance and build or buy a home with a safe room. Otherwise, we have the most advanced weather forecasting and warning systems in the country (in fact, the University of Oklahoma has what most consider to be the best meteorology program in the world). If a tornado comes, you will know about it -- and be informed of what to do.

OKC is wonderful community that would welcome you with open arms. You'll find it a great place to live.

I have lived in Van Buren for over 35 years. Great schools and community with a low crime rate. We have only had one close call. In 1996 there was an F4 tornado that came through our ares. It leveled @ 500 homes in our community, but no one was killed in Van Buren and there were only a few minor injuries. Basically, it was a miracle. It is tornado alley, but most never touch down, are small, or are short lived. This tornado was not short lived and was tracked all the way from Oklahoma, so we had warning if you were up that late at night watching the news. If you are that fearful, just get either a saferoom or a storm cellar. There are funds in the state that pay 1000 dollars towards building your own.

jekler
I live in a bedroom community of Fort Smith, called Lavaca. I was born and raised here. Tornados are definately adrenaline producing, however since the tornado that demolished the 500 houses in Van Buren, the local weather people have seen to it to be very vocal, almost to the point of "give it a rest". It seems that any cloud produces a flurry of warnings. That said, it is a beautiful part of the country. Paragould is too far away. Fayetteville is about an hour north on 540. Greenwood is about 10-15 minutes south. Lavaca is about 10 - 15 minutes east. Charleston is about 20 - 25 minutes east. Fort Smith is on the state line with Oklahoma to the west. Sallisaw Oklahoma is about 25 minutes west, Roland is about 10 minutes west. I would advise that you educate yourself about tornado safety, it should not be any different that the area of LA that you live in. A tornado shelter is fine if you really want one and there is credit from the state available. My grandparents had a shelter and more often than not, we stood outside and watched the weather, rarely going inside. I am sure there were spiders and what not in there.
I would be happy to send you any information you need. Please feel free to email me with any further questions.

Tornadoes arent common in NW Arkansas, but they can happen. Most of the tornadic activity actually occurs west of the Fort Smith Area. The Ozark and Boston mountain ranges do a considerable job in preventing most tornadoes from forming. I have lived in Arkansas for 3 years, never saw a single tornado.

We lived in Muskogee, OK for three years and never experienced a tornado. It is an hour north of Ft. Smith. If you decide to live in Ft. Smith, the areas in the Southside High School zone seem to serve the better neighborhoods. Other nice areas around Ft. Smith include Van Buren and Greenwood.

Tornadoes are not rare, but the area they affect is usually so small (i.e. under a mile across,) that most people will not see a major one in their whole life. But it doesn't mean it cannot happen to you and wipe out your home tomorrow.

You just need to be aware of the possibility of danger and if there's a tornado warning, pay attention of its path on TV/radio, and think about shelter.

jekler, I have personally been directly in ground zero during one tornado and extremely close in two others. Two of those caused some fatalities- one very close to me in a roller rink setting. And I can tell you that even in the most tornado prone geographic locations, if you don't live in a trailer park or trailer and use some very common sense rules, you will have huge stats against getting hurt or killed via tornado.

You are far, far more apt to be killed in a car accident if you ever ride or drive.

Buy a house with a basement, have insurance, learn the signs and your local sirens, and forget about it. If you still can not or do find you are getting "worrisome" about some other related danger, after the tornado one subsides- you might need some counseling help with the "protection" issue if that is occurrin. You already know that it is all related.

Since this thread is from last year, I wonder if jekler ever moved to Arkansas.

I have wondered about that myself. We also saw some tornado's in the Springdale, AR recently and some hail the size of baseballs. Awesome stuff, what God can do!

just to let you know that if you move to Arkansas..it is a MUST to have a basement! Tornado weather has been crazy around here lately!!

Jekler-
I know your thread is a bit old, and this may have already been offered in an earlier response, but buy a NOAA weather radio. We moved to Tennessee from Michigan almost 6 years ago and worried about the weather. (Only after moving here did we learn that on average Michigan has more tornadoes than TN each year!) When you go to shop for a weather radio, get one with SAME (specific area message encoding) technology. You will be able to plug the specific county code into this radio and it will alert you to the full range (if you so choose) of all alerts that NOAA issues. We rely on our radio even when it wakes us in the middle of the night (like it did at 4:30 this morning). Where you live in tornado alley is probably less important that how you respond when severe weather occurs. Having this radio gives us peace but you still have to respond when warnings are issue. Good luck with this. Let us know what you do!

Jekler...please email me at stacy.trotter@cox.net. I live in NW arkansas as well and will tell you everything you want to know. I to am a young mom of two kids! I HAVE LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE so ask away and you will get the honest truth! I know this area better than anyone. Im 25 and my kids are 2 1/2 years old and 8 months old on the 6th! I hope to hear from you

This thread is two and a half years old. Surely if jekler were going to move, she would have done so by now.

Rogers, Bentonville, and Springdale school districts are ranked highly in Arkansas. Due to the influx of Walmart subsidiaries, these districts are very progressive. Fayetteville also gets good marks. NWA (Northwest Arkansas) is less than an hour from Ft. Smith and has unlimited employment opportunities. Housing is more expensive but right now it is a buyer's market.

I am also moving to Arkansas and am afraid of tornadoes. Born and raised in Michigan. We are moving to the Little Rock area. I was reading the posts, and some advise was to buy a house with a basement, but, from what we have seen, the houses do not have basements. What do you do then? Are there neighborhood shelters?

Also looking for areas with good schools... any advice?

ljudge, you might want to start a new thread since this one is several years old. I lived in central Arkansas during college. Twice during my four years we had to all go to the first floors of the dorms, that sort of thing - just twice. If you can get a house with a basement, that's great. If not, the general advice is to go to a room on the interior of the first floor, preferably a doorway, hallway or bathroom (since the plumbing runs underground). Take pillows and blankets with you. And have candles and working flashlights on hand - it's a bigger possibility that your power will go out for awhile.

There aren't usually shelters during the storms. It's not really a good idea to have people on the road driving to them, especially if you have a sturdy house of your own (just one without a basement).

Tornadoes happen more in Arkansas and other states surrounding it than they do in other places, but they're not an everyday occurrence. Have a safety plan. Keep an eye on the weather and radar when you know there's a possibility of storms. And stay calm. Tornadoes are my absolute worst fear other than something happening to my family, and I made it through four years in Arkansas just fine.

Ijudge, you are very unlikely to find a house with a basement. I have lived near Hot Springs for 9 years and we haven't had any tornado scares in the area in that time. I don't remember any in Little Rock, but there have been a few bad ones lately elsewhere along I-40. Just follow the advice above and get a NOAA weather radio, so even if you are asleep you will get a warning. Tornadoes in Arkansas are nothing to obsess over, unless you live in a mobile home. Just be glad you're not moving to Oklahoma!

OK. Here it is from a person who lives 15 minutes from Fort Smith. Fort Smith and Van Buren had a large tornado abou 8 years ago (F3). The small town in Oklahoma that we live in had a tornado in 1976(F5+). In my 40 years of living here that is the only 2 tornados that caused real damage and death. We have a cellar in our house. Some years we never get in it, other years we get there 5 or 6 times. The weather warning now are pretty accurate and the television stations here and even radio have their own radar or multiple types of radar. You will most likely know it if one is coming. Worrying about a tornado would certainly not keep me from moving here. It would be super rare for a tornado to wipe out an entire town. By the way. Greenwood School System in Arkansas is considered one of the best. I live in Spiro, OK. Van Buren is nice town.