You Gulf coast folks can have them

[snowman]

As a rule the closest thing we have to natural disasters in these parts are tornados. They're fearsome storms, as many of you know, but they don't usually cover much territory.

Well, yesterday we and a lot of others got hit with a long, wide line of storms featuring 80+ mph winds. If I know my hurricanes, that is one feature of a Category 1. I've never experienced a wind that heavy, and don't care to do so again. I live on a very small lot with half a dozen trees, and lost half of them. Some pole barns in the area flew apart. This entire state is under a state of emergency, and roughly half a million folks are without electricity.

What is it like to go through a storm with 120, 140 or 160+ mph winds? How does an ordinary dwelling stay intact? I hope I never have to find out.

Andy

 

[Hillbilly77]

Amen to that, brother.
Here in your neighbor-to-the-north-east our weather sounds even less severe than yours. Tornados around here are almost unheard of. When one does pop up every few years, it's usually very small and does little damage.
We don't really seem to get the extreme weather like months-long droughts, months-long floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.
There's a lot to hate about New York, but mostly the weather here is livable.
Maybe that's why they keep the taxes up good and high here. They charge for the great honor and privilege to live here in mostly temperate weather.

 

[RightArm]

Our houses are built with the possibility of hurricanes. Most of the trees that will uproot are long gone from previous storms, unless they're small newbies at which point you just replant. Fences are built to last. If they fall, they were getting old anyway. Flooding is still bound to happen 'cause Houston was built on marsh land. I love a good hurricane. Ike didn't hurt me none, except my beer got warm.

 

[The Big D]

snowman, I know of what you speak...caught your storm a few hours later.

We had amply warning; media outlets and the 'net widely broadcast info that it was coming. I battened down the hatches, secured lawn stuff, and headed to the house to watch. It arrived here circa 2100, and the lightning was simply amazing. It was more "balls" than "bolts." Peak wind gust on my outdoor station was JUST 37 mph but a 25 foot maple tree and a 20 foot cherry tree in my yard were simply swirling. Had never seen anything like it. Power went out almost immediately and the worst of the storm was gone within the hour. .81 inches of rain came with the blow. I went to bed; power came back at 0300. But there's a lot more...

Yesterday I went out for some errands and came upon some real damage. In a neighborhood a few miles west there were trees and power lines down everywhere. No traffic signals operational and scores of businesses were closed...and remain closed. That includes the regional shopping mall. Fortunately, no reports of injuries/fatalities in my area.

I live on a golf course and a bit later I went over to watch the end of the member/member tourney. (Am a bit injured and couldn't play.) The pro suggested I take a cart and ride down to the back nine. WOW! Big. old growth trees were down everywhere. Most of the damage was in a line from the west toward a hill that borders my backyard.

It is obvious there were winds MUCH higher than 37 mph within a few hundred yards of my house. I believe the hill diverted the worst winds "up and over" where they lost strength. Some believe a small tornado touched down; that investigation is underway. Given the damage, it is quite possible. Some trees were 80' tall and root balls were enormous. Needless to say, the back nine remains closed.

Having been in the middle (and underwater in a car) during Hurricane Camille and right in the path of a tornado in 2001 this was/is far less traumatic but I pray for those not as fortunate.

Be safe.

 

[The Big D]

This explains it.

Science behind rare derecho storm that hit Friday - WTOP.com

Interesting, indeed.

Be safe.

 

[ralph7]

Our houses are built with the possibility of hurricanes. Most of the trees that will uproot are long gone from previous storms, unless they're small newbies at which point you just replant. Fences are built to last. If they fall, they were getting old anyway. Flooding is still bound to happen 'cause Houston was built on marsh land.
I love a good hurricane. Ike didn't hurt me none, except my beer got warm.

my beer didn't even get warm, and my generator powered my ac, too.
still, Ike made a hell of a mess and tore up my fence.
nothing at all to love.

 

[REM 3200]

I love a good hurricane.

Having been thru Camille and Katrina, plus a lot of others, I can assure you that there is no such thing as a good hurricane.

 

[OFT II]

I'm sure no expert since I've lived in West Texas most of my life but I spent 14 years in Houston and saw Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Ike. Ike gave my area lots of wind but little rain causing quite a bit of damage. Allison just sat on us and dumped 30 to 40 inches of rain, causing more damage and death than Ike.

 

[Rangerpat]

Thanks BigD for the info on derecho, that's a new one for me that I never heard of before.
I worked in Homestead, FL to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew at the Air Force Base. I saw a F-16 jet that was left in a hangar built to withstand 200 mph winds, both were heavily damaged. Sometimes tornadoes are formed from hurricanes and do a lot more damagage than the hurricane itself.
The only good thing about a hurricane is that you usually get a a few days notice to prepare for the storm, you either hunker down or leave town.

 

[Damn Yankee]

Here in Biloxi when a storm is coming the "Hurricane Hunters" take their planes and leave before the storm hits Keesler AFB.

 

[Stevens]

Hurricanes, like tornados are fickle I am always amazed at how many ramshackle camps and homes are still standing after the strong hurricane passes through.
Steve W

 

[McBear]

Here in LexVegas we didn't have a warning until the wind hit. No clouds or anything until it just darkened and blew through. Temps dropped from 102 to 79 in three minutes. It was through Lex in under five minutes and my impression was we only got the very southern edge, winds felt like 50ish on the side of the Wrangler.

 

[speedyquad]

having survived a tornado with 320+mph winds, losing everything we owned, and not having any warning to prepare, i'll take the hurricane.

imagine seeing your home in pieces, no clothing anywhere in site, checkbook gone, credit/debit cards missing, stash of cash possibly miles away, no vehicles, to go anywhere. at least with the hurricane there is enough warning and the possibility of some sort of shelter surviving.

 

[snowman]

having survived a tornado with 320+mph winds, losing everything we owned, and not having any warning to prepare, i'll take the hurricane.

imagine seeing your home in pieces, no clothing anywhere in site, checkbook gone, credit/debit cards missing, stash of cash possibly miles away, no vehicles, to go anywhere. at least with the hurricane there is enough warning and the possibility of some sort of shelter surviving.

Sir,

I can certainly see how you feel(Oklahoma City -1999 or so?). You're fortunate to still be with us. I salute you for your ability to survive and go on.

Tornados are obviously terrible, frightening events for folks who are hit. My only point was that their paths are narrow in comparison to hurricanes, which may be scores of miles wide and affect many more people. Wind velocities and therefore destructive force may be the same with both kinds of storms.

Thank you for your sobering reply, sir.
Andy

 

[REM 3200]

I am always amazed at how many ramshackle camps and homes are still standing after the strong hurricane passes through.

Have a hurricane and increase the property value ???

 

[wbraswell]

Awww, it's just a little wind, and some water. It'll blow over. (I ain't living down there!)

 

[Oldiron]

Give me the tornados. A little research can show where tornados normally run through an area and my little area has only had one come close (less than a mile) in my lifetime. Yes tornados are vicious and cause a lot of damage and deaths, but the possibility of one getting a specific person/house is far less than with the hurricanes. I guess most folks can understand and accept the weather they grow up in. I do.
Larry

 

[seagill]

As I type this, my swimsuit is still damp from a long swim in the warm gulf waters. I'll live with the storms to enjoy some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Just the price you pay to live in paradise!

 

[Fishslayer]

I'll take our earthquakes, thanks. With an earthquake yer stuff generally stays where ya left it. Hurricanes & tornados, not so much...

 

[Armyphotog]

Pray to God you never get hit with a force 5 tornado. The town of Tupelo, Mississippi, got hit with one in 1936. It cut a half-mile swath out of the middle of the town and stayed on the ground for about 3 miles. Nothing was left standing in it's wake except some of the high school. Over 300 people lost their lives and about another 285 were injured.
If they kept their records differently it would have been the worst tornado to hit the U.S. You see, the same storm lifted up and hit Gainesville, Georgia, the next day and did about the same damage again. The force 5 figure was calculated years later, as no such register existed in 1936. I lost my Great Grandmother in that one when the chimney fell on her. My Grandfather's house was in the middle of the tornado's path. Thank goodness it all happened 4 years before I was born!