Lakeville Minnesota - Tornadoes? How's The City? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: cul-de-sac, houses)

[glowlightfun]

Hi everyone, we are considering a move to Lakeville MN (or possibly another nearby suburb) and we live out of state and never have had to deal with tornadoes. I have a couple of questions about Lakeville and the surrounding areas in general:



1. Are tornadoes likely or does that part of the state never get tornadoes? Coming from a non tornado state, it seems scary to think your roof could blow off so I have no idea if these things happen much in this area or not?



2. Is Lakeville a good, safe, family friendly city that you would recommend?



I'd love to hear from anyone who lives in the area, especially when it comes to tornadoes as that is one of our biggest reservations about moving to Minnesota.


Thank you in advance!

[Rhody2Mn]

Hello,

I live in Lakeville and love the area. To answer your second question first, it is a very good, safe city, one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Twin Cities, and a fantastic place to call home. Despite being a newer car-oriented suburb, it has an old fashioned walkable downtown. Minneapolis and St. Paul are half hour drives away (in non-rush hour, non-inclement weather) via Interstates 35W or 35E respectively.

Schools are good, and there is easy access to a lot of amenities. The Minnesota Zoo is next door in Apple Valley, and Mall of America is 15-20 minutes away. Lakeville has ample shopping as do the nearby cities of Apple Valley and Burnsville, and the latter is a quick drive for major medical needs.

In regards to your first question, tornadoes are not a huge cause for concern and don’t happen that often. That’s not to say they can’t hit here, but it still a relatively small risk and not something I’d worry about.

Best of luck in your move!

[glowlightfun]

Originally Posted by Rhody2Mn

Hello,

I live in Lakeville and love the area. To answer your second question first, it is a very good, safe city, one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Twin Cities, and a fantastic place to call home. Despite being a newer car-oriented suburb, it has an old fashioned walkable downtown. Minneapolis and St. Paul are half hour drives away (in non-rush hour, non-inclement weather) via Interstates 35W or 35E respectively.

Schools are good, and there is easy access to a lot of amenities. The Minnesota Zoo is next door in Apple Valley, and Mall of America is 15-20 minutes away. Lakeville has ample shopping as do the nearby cities of Apple Valley and Burnsville, and the latter is a quick drive for major medical needs.

In regards to your first question, tornadoes are not a huge cause for concern and don’t happen that often. That’s not to say they can’t hit here, but it still a relatively small risk and not something I’d worry about.

Best of luck in your move!

Thank you so much for the reply, it's much appreciated and it sounds like such a great area!

[Camden Northsider]

As someone with a lot of phobias that's been involved w/the aftermath of a few natural disasters-- I'd rather take my chances with tornadoes than have to deal with hurricanes, earthquakes, severe flooding or wildfires. With modern technology there are lots of ways to be notified well in advance of the threat of a tornado (lots of apps for that, and metereologists seem to know a day or two in advance whether conditions have potential to result in tornadic activity).

With climate change, just like with all other weather patterns, it's possible the overall threat of tornadoes will increase, but to be honest that's likely happening in a majority of the US and our threat here is far less than places like Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. If you keep your eye on the weather and severe weather threats throughout the week (and/or in advance of travel), and have access to a basement to retreat to in the event you are in a tornado warning area-- then you generally won't have anything to worry about.

Watching storm chaser videos may or may not be helpful for your situation, but for some people it can be kind of an exposure therapy to see how close those adrenaline junkies get to actual tornadoes (out in the open) without dying or flying into a funnel....

[jennifat]

I'm honestly really confused as to why your primary concern about moving to Minnesota is tornadoes, of all things. Were you under the impression that tornadoes are an everyday occurrence?

The last time the Twin Cities metro area had wide-scale devastation and numerous fatalities due to a tornado outbreak was in 1965 (60 years ago), if that helps put things into perspective for you.

I've lived in Minnesota my entire life and have never once seen or experienced one. They are of course possible here (just like every US state east of the Rockies), but they're relatively rare. The only places in the US where I'd say tornadoes are a real concern is in the central and southern Great Plains and the Deep South, where scores of people are sadly killed annually.

As far as Lakeville goes, it's a fairly generic outer-ring suburb. Nothing special. The housing stock is mostly beige 80s/90s split-levels on cul-de-sacs.

[scatteredthunder]

I was looking up data for Des Moines, where I'm from, and found a site showing all recent tornadoes here. Turns out the same exists for MN.
https://data.sctimes.com/tornado-archive/

Looking at that, it could be kind of intimidating. Tornadoes have certainly caused a lot of property damage. In my experience (roughly 35 years in IA), I've never been personally impacted. I've been within about 10 miles of noticeable damage once (a bunch of trees down) and within say 50 miles at least a couple of times (the most recent of which did result in a few deaths and considerable property damage). But generally I don't get that worried about them. As someone else mentioned, you usually get ample warning.

I find some of the other natural disasters to be much more intimidating, maybe because they impact such big areas. A tornado travels a relatively narrow path.

[jennifat]

Another way to make sense of that data is to look at the fatalities. In a span of 70 years from 1950, 100 fatalities occurred throughout Minnesota due to tornadoes. At first glance, that may seem high.

But if you look at the data from a state like California, which has far, far greater natural disaster risk, there have been tens of thousands of fatalities from wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and mudslides since the 50s. In 2022 alone, there were 153 fatalities in California due to natural disasters.

In comparison, Minnesota doesn't really have much for natural disaster threats.

[glowlightfun]

Originally Posted by jennifat

I'm honestly really confused as to why your primary concern about moving to Minnesota is tornadoes, of all things. Were you under the impression that tornadoes are an everyday occurrence?

The last time the Twin Cities metro area had wide-scale devastation and numerous fatalities due to a tornado outbreak was in 1965 (60 years ago), if that helps put things into perspective for you.

I've lived in Minnesota my entire life and have never once seen or experienced one. They are of course possible here (just like every US state east of the Rockies), but they're relatively rare. The only places in the US where I'd say tornadoes are a real concern is in the central and southern Great Plains and the Deep South, where scores of people are sadly killed annually.

As far as Lakeville goes, it's a fairly generic outer-ring suburb. Nothing special. The housing stock is mostly beige 80s/90s split-levels on cul-de-sacs.

Thank you for your thoughts! I think it's just because we've never lived in a state that even had a tornado or tornado sirens and sometimes when you look stuff up, you see the extremes and it's hard to know what to expect etc.



What you said, being from someone that has lived there helps so much and definitely puts it into perspective. I did kind of picture many tornadoes each year huddled in a basement hoping the rook doesn't blow off but that sounds like it's not the reality there thank goodness!

[jennifat]

The vast majority of people moving to Minnesota from outside the Upper Midwest are going to be most intimidated by the frigid winters. That's a reality you won't be able to avoid.

[Rhody2Mn]

Originally Posted by jennifat

As far as Lakeville goes, it's a fairly generic outer-ring suburb. Nothing special. The housing stock is mostly beige 80s/90s split-levels on cul-de-sacs.

I would respectfully disagree with this, but of course it is largely subjective and depends on what you’re looking for in a place to live. Although there are houses like you describe, there are also many new developments and residences that do not fit this criteria.

OP, I would encourage you to visit not only Lakeville but the Twin Cities area in general so you can determine what works best for you. For example, are you looking for more of an urban, suburban, or rural environment? Will a commute be a factor? The more information you can provide the more helpful we can be.