|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 12, 2023 18:27:45 GMT -6
We just went through a spate of tornado warning. Had several confirmed on the ground in areas around us but not real close. It does get the heart rate up though.
|
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 12, 2023 19:03:30 GMT -6
The news has pictures of funnels and some storm damage.
|
|
|
|
Post by feralferret on Jul 12, 2023 21:22:16 GMT -6
Since all of the tornado reports so far today have been in the Chicago vicinity, that must be your general area. Of course it would explain your interest in keeping score on the Chicago shooting gallery every weekend.
|
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 12, 2023 21:51:05 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Jul 12, 2023 22:23:08 GMT -6
Our closest tornado in 15+ years was 8 miles - still about 20 miles too close :-(
We drove through a little town in Alabama a week or so after a tornado a few years ago and you only have to see the damage up close one time to know that you do not want to be close enough to hear a tornado.
However, we lost 20 feet out of the top of a poplar tree 10-12 years ago to "70MPH straight-line winds" that were part of a July thunderstorm. That big hunk of wood landed on one of the better half's flower beds and across the back driveway. I spent a lot of time with a chainsaw that day... I do plan for the worst when we have summer thunderstorms because 90+ degree days have a lot of energy that can produce VERY powerful storms and they are often unpredictable other than "Rain, wind, hail and moving northeast at 50MPH". Just the speed of their movement can cause problems :-(
Then there are the problems caused by stupid people: a south-bound dump truck driver (in a "NO TRUCKS" lane) lost control and took out a support for the sign structure across the north-bound lanes in the middle of rush hour. At best, there was one lane open north-bound until the repair trucks got there and then all lanes were closed for several hours. The DOT has cited that driver for several things so he might not be driving a truck again - which the north-bound drivers trapped in that mess might see as appropriate punishment.
|
|
|
|
Post by feralferret on Jul 13, 2023 0:02:06 GMT -6
Gipsy, that was kinda close for comfort.
I used to chase storms as a Skywarn spotter back in the Texas panhandle. This was before the movie "Twister" came out and screwed everything up.
I've lost count of how many tornadoes and funnels that I've seen. I've ridden one out in a house that took some damage. I've ridden one out in a storm cellar in Oklahoma where there were three large men (combined weight around 850 pounds) including myself trying to hold the cellar door closed and loosing the battle. That was part of the line of tornadic storms that hit Lawton with fatalities and nearly destroyed Wichita Falls, TX. Search for the NOAA film "Terrible Tuesday". It was about that day, actually early evening when it hit where we were. Some damage to both houses but all six of us were OK, though the three of us holding the cellar door as it flopped were a bit shook up.
Since that stupid movie made storm chasing "cool", there are so many people chasing that they get in each other's way and make it a lot more dangerous for everyone including themselves. Chaser convergences.
I gave up chasing when I moved to Missouri in 1996. My job was not conducive to it, plus the long range visibility sucks due to the numerous hills and trees. There is something to be said for chasing where the land is flat and there are almost no trees except in town as it is in and around Amarillo.
The last advanced spotter training course I took was in the mid-90s and was taught by the two people who wrote the course, Alan Moeller and Chuck Doswell. Google them. They were the top experts at the time. I was honored to know both of them. You knew it was going to be a rough day/night when you heard that Alan Moeller was in town.
Pappaof2, it's often amazing just how stupid people can really be, like that truck driver.
|
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Jul 13, 2023 5:42:14 GMT -6
There was another dump truck driver on I-16 (I think) in Georgia several years ago. He was driving down the interstate with the dump bed (big one, dump trailer being pulled by a semi tractor) UP in the dump position. Caught the edge of an overpass and moved the concrete several feet. The DOT estimated several months to replace the overpass "but it only carries 200-300 cars a day". Getting to the other side of the interstate was about a 50 mile drive so I'd expect the DOT to have heard a lot from the people who lost that access. The driver didn't have a current CDL and a few other bits of "You shouldn't be driving" information. They did have the interstate clear in a day or so. CNN still has a couple of pictures up: www.cnn.com/2021/07/15/us/major-interstate-closed-in-georgia-after-truck-strikes-bridge-trnd/index.htmlYou can't fix stupid and they don't allow us to kill them or neuter them and never have open season on them - you just hope that they don't have children :-( |
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 13, 2023 5:45:04 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 13, 2023 17:04:28 GMT -6
We had 7 confirmed touchdowns yesterday
|
|
|
|
Post by feralferret on Jul 14, 2023 2:11:00 GMT -6
That's better than most football teams, Gipsy!
|
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 14, 2023 8:11:03 GMT -6
I can live without that for sure. They upped the number to 11.
|
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Jul 15, 2023 11:57:29 GMT -6
Well the Final number for Wed is 13. One confirmed touchdown last evening.
|
|
