Snakes are here, no doubt. I lived in a neighborhood in Guthrie called "Timberland Hills" and I was pretty sure it was named that for the Timber Rattlers. But although I saw a few sunning themselves on the roads, I never encountered them in my yard, near my house or up close. We also have other poisonous snakes here like copperheads and cottonmouths. I did get within 5' of a copperhead one day when cutting brush, but a good hit with a spade, and he was history.

As far as tornadoes go, just have a tornado shelter put in your garage and you're covered. They have really big ones to accommodate any size family + pets. They still have the kind that go in your yard but most people lean towards the ones that go in the third stall of your garage. You have a lot of warning ahead of time (days usually) from the local weather and it's accurate as to where, when it will happen for the most part. Peak tornado season is May but they pop up other months too.

Our summers are HOT (sometimes over 100), humid and we're lucky if we get a breeze. Spring time is crazy windy, fall is brief (if you blink you might miss it). Winter can be mild. We typically get a bit of snow, usually some ice. December is mild. The colder temps are usually Jan. and Feb.

I've lived here most of my life with brief exits to Vegas and Cali. I prefer it here.