Nervous about moving 'cause of severe weather (Memphis, Knoxville: 2013, condo)

[shudson72]

Hello,

I'm nervous about moving to Knoxville 'cause of the small risk of tornados. I read info about how it's a smaller risk than other areas but I still have anxiety. Can anyone assure me that I'm in my head and overthinking this? Like, I enjoy Knoxville, I am excited to move here but I get nervous when I think about the funnels. Rainstorms, thunderstorms, lightning storms don't bother me, it's the tornados that make me scared. I don't want to be sleeping and wake up floating in the air. Thanks!

Sean

[Serious Conversation]

It's not a major issue in and around Knoxville - certainly not like it is in middle or western TN. Definitely keep an awareness if there is a weather alert, but it's not something that would ever dissuade me from considering the area.

[Igor Blevin]

Tornado damage is low risk in eastern Tennessee, including Knoxville. Not zero risk, but low risk.

Please click on the link to Weather.gov.

https://www.weather.gov/images/ohx/s...17_cropped.png

As you can see, eastern Tennessee generally has low tornado frequency risk. Memphis has the greatest risk. Nashville and going north has a relatively high risk. Knoxville is low risk. Knoxville is the county in the middle of the east TN portion with 15 tornadoes, in a fairly large county.

What you cant see on the map is tornado magnitude. West Tennessee is more likely to have a bigger EF3 tornado, while east Tennessee is more likely to be EF1.

Another thing you can't see on the map is tornado path and length. Tornadoes can travel hundreds of miles over flat land, but tend to break up in mountains. West Tennessee is flatter and there is a greater likelihood a tornado could travel for a good distance across the land, causing destruction all along its path. The series of tornadoes that killed 100 people 2 years ago that hit Paducah Kentucky, went 300 miles over land, from central Arkansas across southern Missouri and Illinois to central Kentucky.

Knoxville's proximity near the Smokey Mountains tends to limit tornado paths moving too far before weakening and dissipating. In this way, a tornado that hits near Knoxville is likely to do far less damage than one that hits near Memphis, because of the shorter path.

Anywhere you live in Tennesse, there is a chance your home can be flattened by a violent tornado. Nobody is immune. Nowhere has zero risk, but the odds of your home being in the path of a violent F3 tornado or stronger is much lower in the Knoxville area than the areas around Nashville or Memphis. That is just Tennessee. Odds get worse still in a variety of adjacent states.

Here is a link of strong tornados to hit the USA up to 2013.

https://imgur.com/R2pqG96

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by shudson72

Hello,

I'm nervous about moving to Knoxville 'cause of the small risk of tornados. I read info about how it's a smaller risk than other areas but I still have anxiety. Can anyone assure me that I'm in my head and overthinking this? Like, I enjoy Knoxville, I am excited to move here but I get nervous when I think about the funnels. Rainstorms, thunderstorms, lightning storms don't bother me, it's the tornados that make me scared. I don't want to be sleeping and wake up floating in the air. Thanks!

Sean

May be larger risk from occasional small earthquake than a tornado. Also watch for wild fires. That said, no area of TN is immune to tornadoes.

There are ways to mitigate the risk. Get a NOAA weather radio. These days have battery flashlight for when/if power goes out. You may get emergency alerts on cell phone.

In your home have a safe spot in an interior room away from any glass. A bathroom, washer/dryer closet would be ideal. If you know what to do & follow instructions may reduce your anxiety. When the storm is over be helpful to your neighbors.

[TheShadow]

Where do you live now? What is the severe weather risk there? Do you ever have snowstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms, high winds, river flooding, etc? The tornado risk in the Knoxville area is LOW. Not zero, but low. I suspect there are weather events in your state that can also devastate those that experience them. Perhaps there are even people afraid of moving where you live because of that.

Tornados affect a narrow path, and destruction in that path can be severe, but homes literally across the street might have no damage at all. I would be much more worried about tornados in the Midwest, where they grow larger and more severe, than east Tennessee.

The only states that have an average of zero tornadoes per year are Rhode Island and Washington D.C., primarily because they are so small and statistical chance of one occurring in such a small area is basically nil, and Alaska, because the warm humid air flow needed to fuel a tornado doesn't exist there. All other states, including Hawai'i, New Hampshire, and Vermont experience an average of at least one tornado per year. States lying in the more tornado-prone areas have very good weather tracking systems and take extra care to notify the public of the danger through the use of tornado watch and tornado warning systems.

[shudson72]

I live in sterling Va. The thing that scares me about tornados is that they appear and rip you up into the air and throw you around. So, we’re screwed if we don’t have a basement. They said to lay in a bathtub with a mattress over you but I’m like is that supposed to cushion us when we get lifted up and thrown into another county? I hear that they usually occur at night while we’re sleeping. Can you imagine a siren going off and scaring the hell out of you ‘cause you are about to die if you don’t have a basement that goes underground? I say underground ‘cause I’ve seen how some houses in Knoxville have basements but they’re not fully or even half submerged into the ground. Some of you make me feel better with your less risk stuff but murphy’s law seems to always appear. Sure, we’ve had a tornado in sterling va a few years ago but I went to the underground part of the local mall and I don’t know that Knoxville has underground malls or public areas. Like, I don’t want to be in the middle of working and then get an alert that’s like “take shelter or die” and the company has no basement. I like Knoxville and the only thing stopping me from moving there is the tornados. Supposedly, there’s an average of 6 per year? That’s 6 too many. Like, what if I live in a top floor condo and a funnel appears? I’m screwed and might as well just take a few shots of moonshine and do the sign of the cross on my chest.

[Creekcat]

Do car accidents scare you?

[shudson72]

Originally Posted by Creekcat

Do car accidents scare you?

No

[crltn19]

Originally Posted by shudson72

Supposedly, there’s an average of 6 per year? That’s 6 too many.

Did you hear from the same source that we got an average of 6 feet of snow per year?

[TheShadow]

Whatever your source is, they are wrong. The actual number of tornados in Knoxville since 1950 is 51. So that's 0.7 per year.

In the 20 year period from 1991-2010, there were 26 tornados in all of TN, and 18 in all of VA in the same period. You are letting an irrational fear rule where you will live.

https://weather.com/safety/tornado/n...-united-states