The city of Dallas, Tx is flooring edmond ok in North Central Texas, about 250 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. The relatively flat elevation of the city, which reaches no more than 500-800 feet at the highest points, offers little protection from winds and temperature extremes. In general, the weather is considered to be humid subtropical with very hot summers. It is also characterized by a wide range of annual temperature extremes and weather phenomenon.
According to The New York Times, April 1, 2011 Article “Where to Live to Avoid a Natural Disaster”, Dallas is ranked as the city with the highest risks in the entire nation for weather hazards. Why did Dallas, TX receive this ranking? To quote the article, it is because “Dallas has lots of almost everything, but quakes, including hail, wind, drought, and floods.” This article contains an analysis based on Sperling’s Best Places, a publisher of city rankings, and it examines weather risks in 379 different American metro areas. The fact that Dallas, TX was evaluated as the city with the most dangerous and hazardous weather out of all 379 other cities is noteworthy.
Let’s describe some of these weather hazards that so characterize Dallas. Winters are moderate in most cases, but strong cold fronts do occur about 3 times each month and are often accompanied by sudden and extreme drops in temperature. Five months out of the year (January, February, March, November and December) temperatures reach below freezing (below 32 degrees) and for 7 months out of the year (April, May, June, July, August, September and October) temperatures reach above 90 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center. There is virtually no adjustment period between the months of winter and the months of extreme heat. Spring and Fall can be very undistinguished and virtually nonexistent, with the exception of strong winds and hailstorms during the Spring months. According to Riskmeter dot com, a website that evaluates risks, the Dallas Fort Worth metropolis is ranked as one of the Top 10 most hail prone areas in the entire country, according to the frequency of hail storms as well as the severity.
In addition to the sudden and extreme shifts in temperatures and the devastating number and degree of hail storms, Dallas also is located in “Tornado Alley”. Eighty tornadoes were reported in Dallas county between the years of 1950 & 2007, causing millions of dollars worth of damage to property. In fact, according to the National Climatic Data Center, Dallas, TX is listed as #3 in the Top Ten Most Tornado Prone Cities in the nation. When the wind is not powerful enough to be classified as a tornado, it still is strong. The National Climatic Data Center also ranked Dallas, Texas as one of the Top Ten Windiest Cities in the country.
We’ve mentioned extreme temperature changes, hail, powerful winds and tornadoes. But these are not the only reasons why Dallas was voted as the city with the most hazardous weather. We also must take note of how high the UV index rankings are for the city. UV rays are normally blocked by our Ozone. But on some days, more rays penetrate the Ozone and reach the earth’s surface than on other days, and in some areas, the rays are more intense. These rays cause damage to all living cells, and even to inanimate objects, such as our property. So, how does Dallas rate when it comes to the UV index? On average, every year the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September all were ranked as “Very High” on the index for Dallas. This is the highest possible ranking. The months of March and October both were ranked at “High” on average each year. Combined, that totals 8 months out of the year with above average UV intensity for the city of Dallas.
It is true that there are some other cities in the United States besides Dallas that may have a noteworthy number of tornadoes, or high UV rankings, or a significant amount of hail storms, or high winds, or extreme shifts in temperatures. However, Dallas has ALL of these issues, making it the city with the highest risk factors combined, and the most weather hazardous metropolis.
It is obvious how this severe weather affects the comfort and sometimes even the safety, of the residents. However, it may be somewhat less obvious to consider how these weather extremes and hazards affect the property of the residents. For the purpose of this article, we are considering an often neglected part of the home owner’s property- their garage door. How does the weather affect Dallas garage doors, and why is a good quality overhead door in Dallas so vital?
