Timing of my 2026 Wichita KS "city meet" - please vote!

[A.J. Bertin]

I know it's only been two weeks since I hosted my Mobile city meet, but I am already starting to think about my 2026 meet which will be held in Wichita, Kansas.  I've hosted five of these city meets now, and all of them have been in either late April or early May which is a timeframe I've really enjoyed.

However, I'm also mindful of the fact that the April/May timeframe is tends to be a very active period in terms of severe weather across the nation each year.  Certain areas are more prone to it than others, and I think about the fact that Kansas is one of those states that can get extremely strong tornadoes in the spring.  On the one hand, I sort of want to stick with my same general timeframe because any area can be subject to severe weather and I shouldn't let the remote possibility of tornadoes impacting Wichita on the day of my meet cause me to move it to a different time of the year.  But on the other hand, if it makes sense for me to choose a different time of year for 2026 only, maybe that's not a bad idea because we're talking Kansas during peak tornado season.

I'd like to ask for everyone's thoughts on which time of the year I should host my 2026 Wichita meet.  Please vote in the poll!

[Rothman]

Why not summer?

[oscar]

I think about the fact that Kansas is one of those states that can get extremely strong tornadoes in the spring.  On the one hand, I sort of want to stick with my same general timeframe because any area can be subject to severe weather and I shouldn't let the remote possibility of tornadoes impacting Wichita on the day of my meet cause me to move it to a different time of the year.

As Scott5114 noted, re: road trips across southern Kansas some of us were considering a few years ago, Greensburg KS (about 100 miles due west from Wichita) was wiped out by an EF5 tornado in early May 2007. 

June storms in that region can be nasty as well, "but less likely to try to kill you".

[A.J. Bertin]

Why not summer?

Good question.  My understanding is that summer on the Great Plains can get very hot, and with other activities that tend to keep my summers busy each year, I'd prefer to free up those months.