In lower-central NY, we like to whine about our weather. But there is actually something good to be said for weather that is reasonably predictable and falls within a standard pattern. Around November, snow falls and stays, and somewhere around the end of April you can be (fairly) certain snow is over (but you shouldn't rule it out). If you are adventurous, you can try gardening in April and May, but if you don't want to deal with stress, you wait until June. You keep extra water on hand in case there is an ice storm in winter or a bad thunderstorm in summer, but these usually go unused. We get an occasional tornado, but usually our weather experts argue for weeks over whether it was a "real" tornado.
They don't argue over whether tornados are "real" in Arkansas. They know they are.
Since working in animal-shelter support, I've become very weather-aware, nationally, post-Katrina. And I've come to the conclusion that lower-central NYS is a pretty darned safe place to live. Yeah, ok, getting struck by lightning is no fun. But it's manageable, and it hit only my house. It didn't take out a bunch of neighbors. In my area, as long as you have snow tires, a snow shovel, some house fans for summer, and a good sense of humor, you are pretty much OK.
We do have some pretty nasty floods (and those occasional tornados) in my area. But -- on an individual basis -- it is possible to mitigate that by choosing a house out of the flood zone, and tucked in the one of the valleys where tornados seem less likely to strike.
But no huge wildfires like Texas and California. No wide-swath tornados. Hurricanes just bring us some heavy rain.
It's time I stopped whining about snow flurries in April, and appreciate the fact I'm a central-NYS lifer.
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