cajunrose Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 We are looking at moving to Eastern Oklahoma (Claremore area). My parents just moved there too. We live in South Louisiana now. My husband has strong concerns about tornado's and also draught (we plan on buying a farm) but more so about tornado's. Every time I mention anything having to do with storms or tornado's he says "And you are SURE you want to move up there?" Yes, we deal with hurricanes here, but we have advanced warning. I know he has a valid concern but is it one that should stop us from moving closer to family? His job is not a problem...we can move anywhere we want to. Would you move there to be closer to family (my mom and dad, grand parents, aunts and uncles, etc) despite the severe weather they have? His joke is...ok, tornado's, hail the size of baseballs, line drive winds that rip tree's down, draught, ice storms, wind storms...and you STILL want to live there huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I am originally from Oklahoma. Oklahoma has extremely good storm warnings and tornado tracking. You turn on Gary England and do what he tells you. I have actually never been afraid of tornadoes until we moved to NC. I didn't get a storm warning or chance to take my tornado precautions when a tornado hit. In fact, we drove right in its path. Oklahoma has droughts, but they also have a decent water table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OK Family Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 We live just south of Tulsa, (about 30 min from claremore) no don't let weather scare you away. There are definitely storm tracking and weather radar advisories that warn you in advance. I have lived here for 20 yrs now, haven't had a problem. I don't have family here but I would move closer to family if I could. Oh I love the dairy farm in claremore. It's a bit of a drive for me so I don't go often but love their milk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) No, I wouldn't let it deter you. I ditto what everyone else said. We have good advance notice. You can have safe rooms or storm shelters or dug-out's built. For us, it's no big deal. I detest the earthquakes and can't imagine dealing with horrible natural catastrophes with no advance notice. ETA: Oklahoma has its drawbacks (I would love mountains!!!!) but Tulsa is a nice city. It has opera, ballet, rodeos, a church on every corner, casinos and everything in between. Claremore is close enough to, easily, get to Tulsa for activities. Edited April 17, 2012 by snickelfritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 No, I wouldn't let it deter you. I ditto what everyone else said. We have good advance notice. You can have safe rooms or storm shelters or dug-out's built. For us, it's no big deal. I detest the earthquakes and can't imagine dealing with horrible natural catastrophes with no advance notice. ETA: Oklahoma has its drawbacks (I would love mountains!!!!) but Tulsa is a nice city. It has opera, ballet, rodeos, a church on every corner, casinos and everything in between. Claremore is close enough to, easily, get to Tulsa for activities. I keep telling my mom about that Dairy but she hasn't been. I see billboards when I'm up there. I want rolling foothills, etc. I know places in OK have them. I'm moving from FLAT land and want some nice landscape this time. Do you have suggestions on towns 45ish minutes from tulsa on the east side? Claremore isn't set in stone. I just like the town and it's fairly close to my mom and Tulsa. I think my husband will be ok once he visits. He has NEVER even been to the area we are talking about moving! He has only ever been to Western OK. Talk about a leap of faith! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missouri Okie Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I don't live in Claremore, but I also go to The Dairy almost weekly. I think it a great town. Have you seen that community center? Anyway, I consider the area surrounding Claremore to have rolling hills. The drive on Highway 20 on either side of Claremore is very picturesque, especially near the Verdigris River. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zookeeper Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 The Claremore area has nice hills and trees, very pretty! I've lived in OK almost my whole life as have my parents and my dad's parents. None of us has ever suffered any tornado damage. It's one of those things that's bad if it happens to you, but the chances are slim. Now, if you were moving to the Moore area, that might be another story. They seem to have more than their fair share of tornado hits. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) More than 90 tornadoes touched the ground in Kansas last Saturday—which was definitely not a normal weather day for us. Not a single person died, and there were few injuries. Unfortunately, several people did die in Woodward, Oklahoma, the same night. Even that was unusual because the tornado hit after midnight (which isn't typical) and something went wrong with the town's siren. (Found a site that said, "According to Woodward officials, the tower which relays a signal to the town's 20 warning sirens was hit by lightning and not operating properly prior to the arrival of the tornado, which hit just past midnight.") Edited April 17, 2012 by WordGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 I have not seen the community center. I was looking to see if they had a YMCA there and came across the CC webpage. They want a pretty penny for the use of the gym there though! I have loved what I see of Claremore. I need to explore more on my next trip back. We are trying to rush to get our home on the market at the moment though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 We are traveling with my husband for business. In the past week we have spent nights in Woodward, Dallas TX, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and then Woodward again. We were in Woodward when the tornado alarms went off. Our hotel told us to go to the hospital for shelter. :001_huh: There's a chance we may have to move near Woodward, OK, but I'm scared to live there. When the tornado alarms went off and the news was predicting tornadoes all night, we packed up and headed to Amarillo. We were scared and ran! If you move to Oklahoma I would think having a basement or storm shelter would be a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 If you move to Oklahoma I would think having a basement or storm shelter would be a must. Definitely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Agree with the pp. Great warning systems. In fact, it is easy to tell the native Oklahomans. We are usually the ones outside, looking up at the sky during the tornado warnings. That is how used to them we become. Earthquakes? Scare the bageezus out of me. Tornadoes? Meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I keep telling my mom about that Dairy but she hasn't been. I see billboards when I'm up there. I want rolling foothills, etc. I know places in OK have them. I'm moving from FLAT land and want some nice landscape this time. Do you have suggestions on towns 45ish minutes from tulsa on the east side? Claremore isn't set in stone. I just like the town and it's fairly close to my mom and Tulsa. LOL If you are completely flexible, I would also consider what activities you want to be involved in. Homeschool co-ops, music lessons, sports, etc... Tulsa offers just about anything you could want. I'm not familiar with Claremore options, but that would be the best bet for a smaller town that was big enough to have some choices. I know we've played against a Claremore soccer team that joined a Tulsa league, but I don't know why they chose to do that. More competitive in Tulsa or no choices in Claremore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) The Claremore area has nice hills and trees, very pretty! I've lived in OK almost my whole life as have my parents and my dad's parents. None of us has ever suffered any tornado damage. It's one of those things that's bad if it happens to you, but the chances are slim. Now, if you were moving to the Moore area, that might be another story. They seem to have more than their fair share of tornado hits. :D My parents live in Moore (they have since I was 2), and they've never been hit (knock wood). There are specific neighborhoods in Moore that have been destroyed over and over (in my memory, not just historically). DH and I plan to retire in OK (greater OKC area, probably Norman). He is always looking at houses and sometimes I say, "nope, that is a tornado neighborhood." ETA: I just realized that we have lived so many different types of places that we have been through: thunderstorms, windstorms, sand storms, blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, heat waves of over 125 degrees for weeks at a time, vog (volcanic fog) and a tsunami (a mini tsunami). That is crazy. Edited April 18, 2012 by Mrs Mungo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I grew up in KS and live in OK now. The heart of Tornado Alley. Honestly, the storms don't phase me. Yes, they can do horrible damage. Yes, it can put you on edge when they come close. But it's only a few times during the whole year and it's pretty rare to get the big ones. It's actually quite fun watching the storms roll in. And like the others said there is plenty of warning. Sometimes TOO much which freaks everyone out, like this past weekend. If you move to Oklahoma I would think having a basement or storm shelter would be a must. The water table is too high in most areas for basements. Not many people have them. You turn on Gary England He's in the OKC area, not Tulsa/Claremore. Yes, there are some rolling hills in the Claremore area. The area just NE of Claremore is like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 The water table is too high in most areas for basements. Not many people have them. :iagree: And in other areas the bedrock is too high, they would have to dynamite. He's in the OKC area, not Tulsa/Claremore. Oh, really? Back in the day my grandparents had a place on the far side of Eufala, and we got Gary England there. Of course, Tulsa is probably a lot bigger now than it was then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 We generally have enough warning to travel 30 minutes to my parents' house and use their storm shelter. We have a safe room across the street, bit underground is better. I lived in MO for 7 years, I was scared of tornadoes there - not enough warning or sirens! But here, I can deal with it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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