San Antonio (and around) question about Hurricanes, Tornados, state of emergency ???

[Texas Bulldog]

Was watching "wild west comedy tour" and they were coming down into central Texas while hurricane Katrina was hitting. they ditched their route and went back up north a bit.

I moved to San Antonio from Southern California in September so i haven't seen what natural disasters do around this area.

when Hurricane season comes, what is there to expect up here? I thought it would have been too inland for a hurricane to be a problem, Im assuming that if anything it would just be a good storm by then.

How was it during those larger hurricanes and even smaller ones. Also, are Tornado's an issue around these parts?

Just curious i guess.... Thanks!

JOe

 

[MAJIK_BONE_77]

Hurricanes when they do hit, depending on how bad they are can cause problems all the way to oklahoma. I live in deep south Tx now, and have so far been through 3 hurricanes in the last 9 years, but even when I lived in Dallas (born and rasied) I can remember 2 times that a hurricane that hit the coast caused severe weather in Dallas.

As far as tornados only have heard of 3 since I moved down south, but in Dallas we had several every year, although they may not always be severe ones, they were always expected, not sure about San Antonio though, never been there during severe enough weather to cause tornados, so not sure what their average is, but I'm pretty sure they get 'em even if its rarer than in Dallas.

All in all it's nothing to worry about, if your from California, you know the drill about earthquakes, just becomes a part of life, and most people don't worry about it until it happens, just make sure you have a plan in case the weather turns on u.

 

[txinvestigator]

It has been my observation that the danger to SA from Hurricanes is flooding and the tornados that spawn off from them. The last hurricane that really affected SA was Gilbert in the mid '80s. there were 3 deaths in SA from those tornadoes


Here is an interesting article. USATODAY.com

 

[majormadmax]

In SA, you should be more concerned with flash flooding than hurricanes! Storms usually peter out by the time they get this far inland, but we lose people every year trying to cross flooded roadways. Just recently the owner of The County Line BBQ was killed just past Specht's Ice House trying to cross a flooded creek. As the saying goes, "Turn Around, Don't Drown!"

As for tornadoes, I have seen them here; but I have never seen any more damage than tree limbs being blown down, trees themselves uprooted (usually small or old, dying ones), or shingles being blown off a roof. They are not a major concern.

Oh, and welcome to SA!

Cheers! M2

 

[San Antone RR]

You have to worry about the evacuees clogging up the streets. The weather is not really an issue besides the floods mentioned earlier.

 

[Clockwork]

Heavy rains and flooding. Evacuees around the Port SA/Kelly AFB area.

 

[Texas42]

Drought or flood. . . pretty much the way it is. I've lived most of the time in San Antonio since 1995 (I went to college in Stillwater, OK). We've had 2 hundred year floods and a lot of drought. There was a couple tornados that tore up an HEB roof, but not much else. I'm lived through my share of tornados in OK, and people take them way too seriously down here. Had lots of people die from low water crossing during flash floods. Kind of sad actually.

I have seen baseball sized hail on at least one occasion (that was fun carrying two large hailstones through Target and seeing people's reaction)

Really not much to talk about. The worst natural disaster around here is the variety and abundance of allergens.

 

[Outbreak]

I lived in SA for 13mos. Worst thing I encountered was lack of drainage. Flash flooding really does happen there. Now I live in Abilene, which has all the contours of a skillet, so standing water here is an issue, too.

 

[majormadmax]

Good point about hail, we don't get it too often but when we do, it's nasty!

Oh, and I forgot to mention heatstroke! If we have another summer like last year--with record triple-digit heat--you gotta be careful! I drive an open Jeep during the warmer months, and even just this past weekend got a slight burn from an hour-and-a-half drive! Any outdoor activity during the summer, especially around our two lakes (Medina and Canyon), requires preparation for being out in the sun!

Cheers! M2

 

[Texasjack]

You left the earthquakes in S. Cal and are worried about the weather in Texas? C'mon! Hurricanes give lots of advance warning. Earthquakes don't.

When Hurricane Alicia hit Houston back in the 1980's, there were 11 people killed. ONE was killed by a tree falling on her house and crushing her. The rest were doing stupid things - like driving around in the storm trying to take pictures, like climbing up on the roof during the storm with an electric chainsaw to cut a tree limb, like trying to swim across a flooded bayou.

If you were actually living on the coast, you would have to evacuate. (The rule is: "Run from the water, hide from the wind.") Inland, any solid structure will be pretty good protection.