r/RVLiving • u/The-peeepo • Mar 07 '25
discussion Full time RV travelers! Where do you go during tornado season?
I am planning to be full time living in my tiny RV in 2026. I am in Texas right now, and plan to frequent back to Texas from New Mexico for family and work. I am concerned about tornado season, and I have seen a few people's RVs have flipped this season already.
Where do you go to avoid these winds? I am anticipating being in a 13 to 15 ft lightweight camper with my cats so I would hate for something to happen during tornado season.
Tell me everything you think of! Where do you go? If you are stuck in tornado alley in your RV, what are your precautionary measures?
TIA
13
u/boryenkavladislav Mar 07 '25
Well, i just rode out that intense low pressure wind storm in a 17ft Casita with my two cats earlier this week. It felt like a continuous magnitude 3.5 earthquake, it wasn't rolling gently like a boat, rather it was constant shaking. Sleep was hard. I'm full timing out of it while in Norman Oklahoma attending OU's school of meteorology, so I feel like I can contribute to your question pretty meaningfully!
The regions with highest tornado and wind probabilities migrates throughout the spring and summer season, so the safest locations change with each given month.
From March 1 through end of April, the highest tornado and wind risk areas are most of Texas (except far south and southwest), all of the southern and central plains states (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado plains), and the south and southeastern states Arkansas, Louisiana, sometimes Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and the Florida panhandle.
May 1 through perhaps June 7, the risk shifts generally northwestward... so out of the southeast and more into the heartland, midwest, southern and central plains(Texas through Colorado/South Dakota/Iowa). This means virtually everything between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian mountains, and areas at the same latitude as Chicago and southward. Risk exists everywhere east of the Rocky mountains really, but its concentrated between Rockies and Appalachians.
After June 7, the risk shifts towards the central plans, north plains, and all of the mid-latitude states generally north of Denver-St. Louis-Washington DC. The northeast is at risk. Large straight line wind events called 'derechos' are very likely in the summer months (July-August) across the northern states, especially Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan.
Central and southern Florida, and the entire gulf coast really, is highly susceptible to tropical weather in the summer months, which of course will bring high straight line winds and high tornado risks as those storms pass. But usually you can see those coming with some advanced notice.
The safest places year round from wind and tornado are the Rocky intermountain and pacific coast regions. Southern california/arizona and the great basin regions in Oregon/Idaho are probably the absolute safest from wind/tornado.
1
u/EngineeringFar7069 Jul 26 '25
New England rarely has tornado activity. I would say safest in country from tonadoes and hurricanes. You would have to live on the water for a hurricane to get to you. Even hurricane Sandy only came in 1 street from ocean.
0
u/309zxuser Mar 08 '25
New Mexico is a very good bet For no tornadoes!
0
u/DecaffeinatedLala Mar 08 '25
We get them.
0
u/309zxuser Mar 08 '25
If you're in the northeast or Texas border, yup you do. Rest of the state is untouched.
7
u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl Mar 07 '25
Come to Arizona! No tornadoes, earthquakes, blizzards - the occasional monsoon, maybe a haboob, but that's about it. Northern Arizona (Prescott, Sedona, Payson) has some cooler temps even in the summer.
5
u/ROK247 Mar 07 '25
Keep an eye on weather apps and YouTubers - Ryan hall y'all and maxvelocity are great. Don't be scared be prepared!
2
2
u/Duane_Miller5705 Mar 07 '25
While I’m not in or usually travel to tornado prone areas (I’m in NC), I always keep a weather radio on the counter and plugged in at all times. Heck, even a severe thunderstorm can cause havoc depending on the storm.
I’m not really sure you avoid bad weather all together, but most campgrounds offer structures such as bathhouses or storm shelters if needed. I guess you have to try to stay ahead of these things as much as possible.
2
u/armstaae Mar 07 '25
Tornados are bad for campers, but also for houses in general. There's not really a way to avoid them if you're living in tornado country.
If a tornado comes - Find a basement. Can't find a basement? Find a ditch. Can't find a ditch? Find the lowest possible ground you can.
2
u/you_know_i_be_poopin Mar 07 '25
Eight years full timing zigzagging across the country and never seen a tornado. I'd love to see one though from a distance.
1
1
2
u/MrMcBrett Mar 07 '25
Full timer in Texas, I plan to shelter in the park facilities, like restroom/showers. Most sites I visit have cinder block construction, a lot stronger than a trailer. I have only had one strorm that lead me to take shelter in the past 4 years. Touch down was 2 miles from me.
2
u/Texan-Trucker Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 08 '25
If possible, try and orient your trailer in an “east-west” fashion. Most of your severe storm winds will generally blow from west to east, +/- 10 degrees.
Look for parks that have a tornado shelter if you’re in “tornado alley”. All of them SHOULD have one. An RV park is no place to be when a tornado or 40k+ foot supercell passes nearby or a QLCS bow front with 70+ mph straight line winds passes through. Hopefully the shelter will be on the western or northern side of the park and a good distance from nearest site.
2
u/BaconNBeer2020 Mar 07 '25
Away from tornado alley. I suggest most of the western US. Lots of open land to hang out without tornados.
2
u/gentleman1234567 Mar 07 '25
Slides in, jacks down and head towards tornado shelter (usually shower/bathhouse/ laundry building. I don’t like going through bad weather in campgrounds!
2
2
3
1
u/throwaway071317 Mar 07 '25
That’s why we moved West. We’ve lived in Texas, Arkansas and Colorado and we had Tornado warnings in each of those.
1
u/m30guy Mar 07 '25
No eye of the tornado hitchhiking please you got a pay stuff like everybody else 😂
1
u/fukingstupidusername Mar 07 '25
I survived hurricane Ian in a park model. Eye wall made landfall two miles away. Are you from a tornado state? Most people who grew up in a tornado state don’t fear them too much and know when they’re going to be an issue. If you’re going to be somewhere long enough then look into tie downs.
1
u/The-peeepo Mar 07 '25
Born and raised in Texas, with an intense fear of tornadoes and black outs lol
1
u/Admirable_Purple1882 Mar 07 '25
I try to avoid being in areas where it’s a serious concern. My precautionary actions if I’m in such a situation are to keep a close eye on the weather, use a weather radio, and stay at a place that has some kind of shelter. You can stay in a hotel if it’s particularly concerning.
1
1
1
1
u/Ukeheisenburg Mar 08 '25
I'm from Moore Oklahoma, and I've lived in Oklahoma my entire life. While we were fulltime in the rv, even though it annoyed my husband, if there was a tornado planning on coming at me, I was someone's house who I knew had a shelter or I was packed up in the truck and long gone from the storm. I can replace the camper, can't replace us or the doggos.
1
u/PadsFan4Lyfe Mar 08 '25
Contemplating a move to TN and, if and when we find our property, I will drop some cement into the ground with anchors and heavy duty tie downs/chains/cabling? to help secure the coach to the ground.
1
1
u/Short_Pomegranate_58 Mar 08 '25
If it’s a tornado prone area, I find that most of the parks have a storm shelter. In case they don’t, find a “shelter” like a restaurant or other establishment and designate that as your go to area. There’s nothing you can do about your camper unfortunately, only yourself. I’m sure you have them but I’d make sure you have travel bags/crates for your cats so you can move them easily to your shelter
1
Mar 08 '25
That's supposed to be one of the advantages of RV living, ie being nowhere in the vicinity of snow, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. Work does make things complicated ... helps to have a good "nomad" job. Dunno about tornadoes but that's how I dodge hurricanes, I get the heck outa town
Interesting question, what the summertime equivalent of Quartzsite is. Ironically, the answer could be "New Mexico" ... just gotta be looking up north in the Taos area
1
u/The-peeepo Mar 08 '25
I would do many things to find a nomad job. I am hoping once I am not tethered to my Texas apartment, that finding more nomadic jobs will be in my future.
1
u/HookerFace81 Mar 08 '25
I live in Tornado alley in North Alabama. I have my rv anchored, but in the event of an active tornado or heavy winds I just go in my daughter’s house across the driveway to the storm cellar.
1
u/Zealousideal_Win6562 Jun 26 '25
I would probably just go to a hotel for the evening, a Comfort inn or Fairfield inn and suites would be around 70 bucks.
1
0
16
u/TwatWaffleInParadise Mar 07 '25
If I am in a campground where there might be a risk of tornadoes, I make sure I understand where their tornado shelter is.
I've spent two months in Kansas during tornado season. Had two tornado warnings. For one, we hunkered down in the bathroom which was the designated shelter. For the other, we got the warning while the storm was 40+ miles away, so we left and went to a restaurant. Two years later we spent three weeks in Oklahoma and dealt with multiple tornado outbreaks, but thankfully we had flown out for a wedding so we were several states away from the storms, but we would have gone to the tornado shelters at that park as well.
Since you are posting this question, I'm guessing you're already weather aware and know to have multiple ways (NOAA weather radio, cell phone, TV) to receive tornado warnings. Treat every single tornado warning that covers where you are as if the tornado is 100% guaranteed to hit your RV. Better to sit in a stinky bathroom for 30 minutes and survive than to risk it and die.