The next two are subtle, but you can see the edge of the shelf cloud approaching.
Showing posts with label severe weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label severe weather. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, March 18, 2013
Hail Storm with Golf-Ball Sized Hail
I could see some severe cells approaching on the radar and one looked like it was going to hit us dead-on. I went out on the porch to wait. The lightning was almost continuous but the wind hadn't picked up yet. The sirens went off and added to the excitement (half of us were on the porch, waiting). Eventually there was a bit of breeze, then it got stronger. In the distance we could hear a roaring sound, growing louder. I wasn't worried about a tornado and thought it was too loud for the wind associated with a downdraft. Assuming that the coming rain must be incredibly heavy I went to the doorway to watch. A few drops started coming down and then I realized that the sound was probably hail. Another moment and it was upon us. It was absolutely deafening. It sounded like the end of the world. I could see massive hailstones hitting the street and exploding. I looked at our van and car and realized that there was nothing I could do. I made the sign of the cross over them and asked God to protect them. [Foolishly I didn't do the same thing for the house.] The hail was not only large - most of it golf ball-sized - but there was a ton of it. The ground started to turn white. The wind was blowing very hard and the hail was exploding through the open screen door and starting to cover the porch. When we opened the door to the house some of the hail blew inside.
[Pause to add that we're going to go check the church and the hall in a few minutes. Oh boy...it's like, all windows...I'll update when we get back. [UPDATE: SEE BELOW]]
After it had been hailing for about a minute I remembered the camera and dashed inside to get it. I filmed the next 2 minutes of the storm. The video doesn't do it justice because it's so dark. Turn the volume up until you're covering your ears and that's what it sounded like.
[Stolen from my regular blog]
As soon as it died down (about 2 minutes after I stopped filming) I ran out to gather up some hail to measure. I photographed it next to a tape measure. When the rain had stopped a little bit too I ran out and checked the cars. There are probably dings in the metal car bodies but the windows are all intact!! I can't believe it. They were completely exposed. Thanks be to God! Remember I mentioned that I should have done the same for the house? Well, we lost two windows in the house and have a leak in the roof near the fireplace. Live and learn. I estimate the entire hailstorm lasted about 5 minutes. It felt like an eternity.
UPDATE: Well, we went to check the church and hall (ALL of us, despite it being past bedtime) and, believe it or not, the church is FINE. Not one crack in one window. And our church is practically all windows! We were most worried about the west side (that's the direction the hail was coming from) but here it is, sound as ever:
Not quite so lucky at the hall, but even there only lost one window in the kitchen:
We drove around a few blocks on the way home and saw a few things. There were two streetlamps which had the exterior portion blown down by the hail...but the light was still on. Amazing. Here's one:
In one shopping area a few smart people pulled their cars right up on the sidewalk outside the stores. As we drove around we didn't see any vehicles with broken windows. My theory is that the hail was composed of ice layers that broke apart easily so the energy of the blow was absorbed more by the hail (which exploded) than the item it hit.
Unless, of course, the item being hit is an easily ripped-out screen. All of our screens except the two on the sheltered east side of the porch were ripped out by the hail. That explains how so much hail got on the porch.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Ahhhh
Music to my ears: the sirens are going off. Alas, only for a tornado watch which we're sharing with a few dozen other counties. We will at least get some good wind, thunder and lightning (the rain isn't much needed - we had enough overnight).
Updates as events warrant.
[I notice that parts of LA have gotten over 10 inches of rain. Time to break out the oars.]
--Primarily a rain event although we had a little thunder and lightning. Flood warnings for our area but we're not low-lying.
Updates as events warrant.
[I notice that parts of LA have gotten over 10 inches of rain. Time to break out the oars.]
--Primarily a rain event although we had a little thunder and lightning. Flood warnings for our area but we're not low-lying.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Spring 2012: the opening lineup
We kicked off the 2012 spring tornado season a little early with the tornadoes on February 29th. Usually we're not looking at major outbreaks until at least March and more usually April. Wednesday there were 30 confirmed tornadoes and 13 deaths. May their memory be eternal! (The people, not the tornadoes)
In the south you can always tell the onset of spring not by the appearance of the robin (they've wintered here) nor by the blooming of the azaleas (they got a head start at the beginning of February) but by the wail of tornado sirens. I haven't heard any myself yet today, but considering that I went outside at 7 AM in short sleeves and it's March 2nd I will probably be hearing them by late afternoon.
If you live in an area of the country that is at higher risk for severe weather, I strongly urge you to have a weather radio in your house. Don't just get the kind that offers a 24 hour forecast if you press a button; get one that you can set to go off if a severe weather warning is called for your area. At 2 AM you are highly unlikely to wake up and think, "hey, I think I'll push this little button and check the forecast". You are far more likely to be asleep in your bed and unaware of the tornado sneaking across the county line into your backyard. Many communities have sirens now but if you live in an area without one or are in a rural area or you are like me and simply can't hear them unless you're outside, then do yourself and your family a favor and get a weather radio.
Speaking of severe weather risk, there are maps for every month indicating the relative storm risk in any given area. Let's have a look at them.
January: Ok, tornadoes are rare in January but they happen.
February: Aha! Notice the risk has gone up dramatically.
March: Now we're talking. Notice that the risk is not primarily in the traditional "tornado alley" but in the southeastern states. For the uninformed (or formerly uninterested) this is actually called "dixie alley".
April: The slide off to the west begins as things start to heat up in tornado alley.
May: You see how the area of greatest risk has now moved off to the northwest. The risk is the greatest in tornado alley.
June: Mostly the same as June but concentrated a little farther north.
July: July is pretty uniformly hot so you're not having quite as many clashes along frontal boundaries.
August: Notice the threat in the south has decreased to below even that of January.
September: As things start to cool off a bit the threat starts its slide back south. A lot of tornadic activity this time of year is associated with hurricanes and tropical storms.
October: The threat is not gone, but it is pretty tame in general across the U.S.
November: Here we see the south getting its second wind. November is the second peak for the lower Mississippi valley. There are plenty of hurricanes this time of year too.
December: No one thinks of Tornadoes in December, but they occur. Weather in the south can be very changeable and strong fronts are not uncommon.
Remember, even if you live in an area considered low threat, like Washington state, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms can still occur. Check this site for tornadoes by state (also just a fun site).
In the south you can always tell the onset of spring not by the appearance of the robin (they've wintered here) nor by the blooming of the azaleas (they got a head start at the beginning of February) but by the wail of tornado sirens. I haven't heard any myself yet today, but considering that I went outside at 7 AM in short sleeves and it's March 2nd I will probably be hearing them by late afternoon.
 |
| (via the Weather Channel: see article) |
If you live in an area of the country that is at higher risk for severe weather, I strongly urge you to have a weather radio in your house. Don't just get the kind that offers a 24 hour forecast if you press a button; get one that you can set to go off if a severe weather warning is called for your area. At 2 AM you are highly unlikely to wake up and think, "hey, I think I'll push this little button and check the forecast". You are far more likely to be asleep in your bed and unaware of the tornado sneaking across the county line into your backyard. Many communities have sirens now but if you live in an area without one or are in a rural area or you are like me and simply can't hear them unless you're outside, then do yourself and your family a favor and get a weather radio.
Speaking of severe weather risk, there are maps for every month indicating the relative storm risk in any given area. Let's have a look at them.
January: Ok, tornadoes are rare in January but they happen.
 |
| more info |
February: Aha! Notice the risk has gone up dramatically.
 |
| more info |
March: Now we're talking. Notice that the risk is not primarily in the traditional "tornado alley" but in the southeastern states. For the uninformed (or formerly uninterested) this is actually called "dixie alley".
 |
| more info |
April: The slide off to the west begins as things start to heat up in tornado alley.
 |
| more info |
May: You see how the area of greatest risk has now moved off to the northwest. The risk is the greatest in tornado alley.
 |
| more info |
June: Mostly the same as June but concentrated a little farther north.
 |
| more info |
July: July is pretty uniformly hot so you're not having quite as many clashes along frontal boundaries.
 |
| more info |
August: Notice the threat in the south has decreased to below even that of January.
 |
| more info |
September: As things start to cool off a bit the threat starts its slide back south. A lot of tornadic activity this time of year is associated with hurricanes and tropical storms.
 |
| more info |
October: The threat is not gone, but it is pretty tame in general across the U.S.
 |
| more info |
November: Here we see the south getting its second wind. November is the second peak for the lower Mississippi valley. There are plenty of hurricanes this time of year too.
 |
| more info |
December: No one thinks of Tornadoes in December, but they occur. Weather in the south can be very changeable and strong fronts are not uncommon.
 |
| more info |
Remember, even if you live in an area considered low threat, like Washington state, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms can still occur. Check this site for tornadoes by state (also just a fun site).
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