Kansas City ain't flat!

[emily_in_nc]

You didn't get an inkling when the area you are living in is called "Shawnee Hills"? Yes, Toto you are in Kansas, but not rural Kansas! The Flint "hills" are just to the west of KC, so again "hills". It's flat in central and western Kansas, but have fun with the wind!

We aren't living in Shawnee Hills, though; in fact, I've never heard of that, but I believe I have ridden them now! We are actually living in Prairie Village. Most of our rides take us to Overland Park, Merriam, Mission, and Shawnee, depending on where we're going. I just had no idea of the terrain. My NC relatives are amazed too, as all thought Kansas was flat. Wind, I expected, and yes, it is windy, though through the residential areas, we are sheltered from it somewhat. It's a beautiful area to ride, just not what I expected! It's also much greener and lusher than I thought it would be, with huge trees and many parks. Love that!

We drove up to Weston, MO yesterday and hiked at Weston Bend State Park. Gorgeous, but again, nowhere near flat. Then walked into the city of Weston, also hilly.

I absolutely love this part of the country for many reasons, and the good thing about it not being flat is that I'll be in much better shape than I expected from walks and rides here!

[spokewench]

I lived in Prairie Village when I was a baby. You see all the trees now? Well, I may be showing my age, but it was a "prairie" new subdivision then with no trees. Amazing what half a life time will do!

[emily_in_nc]

I lived in Prairie Village when I was a baby. You see all the trees now? Well, I may be showing my age, but it was a "prairie" new subdivision then with no trees. Amazing what half a life time will do!

So true. The couple we are house-sitting for left a book here on the history of Prairie Village (very interesting read with many great photographs). There are quite a few pictures of what PV looked like back then. The book stated that every household was either given (or sold at a very low cost) a couple of trees to put up in their front yards and a couple to put up along the streetside of the sidewalk. Those little trees are now the tall, full, shade trees that are everywhere around. It took good vision to look towards the future and build a city like this! So different from what I am used to in new subdivisions where they come in and cut down all the trees to build houses.

I also feel comforted by the many large trees meaning that this is not a tornado-prone part of the state. My parents were glad to hear that as well!

[Deborajen]

So true. The couple we are house-sitting for left a book here on the history of Prairie Village (very interesting read with many great photographs). There are quite a few pictures of what PV looked like back then. The book stated that every household was either given (or sold at a very low cost) a couple of trees to put up in their front yards and a couple to put up along the streetside of the sidewalk. Those little trees are now the tall, full, shade trees that are everywhere around. It took good vision to look towards the future and build a city like this! So different from what I am used to in new subdivisions where they come in and cut down all the trees to build houses.

I also feel comforted by the many large trees meaning that this is not a tornado-prone part of the state. My parents were glad to hear that as well!

Our neighborhood is like that, too. The houses are 50-60 years old, and each yard on our block had a pair of honey locust trees in the front yard. A lot of them have been cut down and/or replaced, but some are still standing. One of my older neighbors, who is the original owner of her house, has told me she remembers when the block was a big open field and goats grazed on it. It's interesting to picture the stages it's gone through.

I hate to say it, but all of tornado alley is tornado prone. Mature trees are really a bad thing because they can fall on you. BUT - I've lived in Kansas all my life and have never been hit by a tornado. Very few people I know have actually been through one. Just so you know what to do - and it sounds like you do - The odds are you won't go through one.

[emily_in_nc]

I hate to say it, but all of tornado alley is tornado prone. Mature trees are really a bad thing because they can fall on you. BUT - I've lived in Kansas all my life and have never been hit by a tornado. Very few people I know have actually been through one. Just so you know what to do - and it sounds like you do - The odds are you won't go through one.

We have lived through tornado watches/warnings in NC, but here at least there's a basement with a concrete bunker area that would be a really safe place to go in a warning situation, so I actually feel safer here than some of the places we've lived in NC. I also recently read an article on weather.com that listed cities in order of how many tornadoes had hit over the past so many decades. KC was actually quite a ways down the list. Many more Florida cities are much more tornado prone than KC. Check it out -- KC is #33 on the list:

http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_22492.html

[Deborajen]

Interesting - It's always surprising to see how much things add up some places. I saw an article a week or so ago about towns that have been hit twice by EF-5 tornadoes and the town of Sedgwick, KS, which is just north of Wichita, was hit in the late 1800's and again in the early 1900's - but not since, or nothing big, anyway. And Moore, OK just can't seem to catch a break. But on the other hand, Greensburg, KS was a quiet, older town which seemed "safe." Then seven years ago they were hit by a tornado that nearly erased them off the map.

They can hit anywhere and in this part of the country they're more likely to be BIG. But they are usually pretty localized - definitely more so than a hurricane, so the odds are you won't get hit by one. And I feel safer with a basement, too - our previous house didn't have one, so it was a priority when we bought this one.