When we lived in the High Desert of California, I used to really like the afternoon winds that so many people were often complaining about. I actually miss those winds often here, because many times, especially this time of year when the winds die down in the afternoons it gets very uncomfortable and humid in the still air.
Then there are times that get myself and Stacy very nervous about the winds. Back in the desert it was the wind storms that stirred up sand that could sandblast a car down to the bare metal. That actually happened early on when we had moved to the area, no garage yet, no protective fences up yet, just our 3 vehicles parked side by side in our front yard, my Datsun 240Z, our Chevy Suburban and Ford F150 pickup truck. It was our first time with winds like those and we didn't know what to expect. But we had not expected that!
The storm happened over night and the next morning I was very upset to find the passenger side of the 240Z obliterated from the sand blasting. The windows were foggy from the sand damage and the paint was blasted literally down to the metal in several spots on the passenger side. The Suburban wound up needing all the windows replaced but the paint job was 'saved' by the 240Z taking the brunt. Shortly after that disaster we put up protective wood fencing and made sure to park in it's safety forever after that. But in our almost 20 years there we had to often hope for the best in those sand blasting sand storms.
Now, living in a forest here in North Idaho, the concern in strong winds is falling trees and damage from large branches or entire trees being blown over. Yesterday was one such day, the weather forecast had actually been right and the predicted afternoon thunderstorms did materialize. They just turned out to be considerably stronger than had originally been predicted. Alerts were up from about 4:30 pm on and as we drove home after 5 pm we knew we'd get hit, we just hoped it wouldn't be as bad as was being predicted with quarter sized hail, flash flooding rain, and over 60 mph (96.5 kph) winds.
When the storm hit we lost all power about 5:40 pm, we didn't get the flash flooding rain, or the hail, but the winds were something else! I stood on the front porch watching the rain fall, the lightning flashes and seeing the winds whip around the trees. I was certain something was going to give, the winds were so strong. Stacy and I both heard an incredibly loud cracking sound and knew a tree was going down someplace close.
We watched and waited and about a half hour later it was passed and on it's way North East of us towards Montana and Canada.
So, after everything was calm, I walked out to check out the damage, as there had to be some!
This photo is only half of the front area, no trees broken or over but a whole lot of large branches, everywhere! Stacy and I cleaned the majority of it up, just leaves were left, all the branches are in the pile for the dump.
The photo below I took this morning is of the source of the cracking we'd heard last night during the storm, in an area in our forest where the wind apparently swirled around to make a kind of vortex, there are actually 3 trees in this pile that were blown down by the winds. The picture doesn't give any kind of accurate size scale, but the broken tree section below is about 18 inches across and about 30 feet long.
In falling, this tree took out a cottonwood in the background and a Cedar to the left. There are certainly more downed trees but these were the first and closest we found.
It was just 2 years ago when on returning from our trip to Sandy's in San Jose, California, that we came home to find a similar storm had occurred knocking over a 60 foot pine tree, from the middle of a grove and supposedly protected by being in that grove, and just hitting the edge of the deck off our bedroom taking out my weather station and us being glad it wasn't just 10 feet to the left causing real damage to the house.
Oh, and the power? Ours came back on just before 9:00 pm, but even as I write this, the report is thousands are still without power and many may be without power for days to come.
And while the rain did help with the fires in Washington, state, they didn't get enough rain to make a big difference in fighting them.
Temperature wise, it was hot before the storms yesterday, up to low 90s here and then today in the upper 60s with clouds and rain. By next Sunday it's predicted to be back up in the 90s and dry, dry, dry.
Till next time, Tad
Then there are times that get myself and Stacy very nervous about the winds. Back in the desert it was the wind storms that stirred up sand that could sandblast a car down to the bare metal. That actually happened early on when we had moved to the area, no garage yet, no protective fences up yet, just our 3 vehicles parked side by side in our front yard, my Datsun 240Z, our Chevy Suburban and Ford F150 pickup truck. It was our first time with winds like those and we didn't know what to expect. But we had not expected that!
The storm happened over night and the next morning I was very upset to find the passenger side of the 240Z obliterated from the sand blasting. The windows were foggy from the sand damage and the paint was blasted literally down to the metal in several spots on the passenger side. The Suburban wound up needing all the windows replaced but the paint job was 'saved' by the 240Z taking the brunt. Shortly after that disaster we put up protective wood fencing and made sure to park in it's safety forever after that. But in our almost 20 years there we had to often hope for the best in those sand blasting sand storms.
Now, living in a forest here in North Idaho, the concern in strong winds is falling trees and damage from large branches or entire trees being blown over. Yesterday was one such day, the weather forecast had actually been right and the predicted afternoon thunderstorms did materialize. They just turned out to be considerably stronger than had originally been predicted. Alerts were up from about 4:30 pm on and as we drove home after 5 pm we knew we'd get hit, we just hoped it wouldn't be as bad as was being predicted with quarter sized hail, flash flooding rain, and over 60 mph (96.5 kph) winds.
When the storm hit we lost all power about 5:40 pm, we didn't get the flash flooding rain, or the hail, but the winds were something else! I stood on the front porch watching the rain fall, the lightning flashes and seeing the winds whip around the trees. I was certain something was going to give, the winds were so strong. Stacy and I both heard an incredibly loud cracking sound and knew a tree was going down someplace close.
We watched and waited and about a half hour later it was passed and on it's way North East of us towards Montana and Canada.
So, after everything was calm, I walked out to check out the damage, as there had to be some!
The photo below I took this morning is of the source of the cracking we'd heard last night during the storm, in an area in our forest where the wind apparently swirled around to make a kind of vortex, there are actually 3 trees in this pile that were blown down by the winds. The picture doesn't give any kind of accurate size scale, but the broken tree section below is about 18 inches across and about 30 feet long.
In falling, this tree took out a cottonwood in the background and a Cedar to the left. There are certainly more downed trees but these were the first and closest we found.
Oh, and the power? Ours came back on just before 9:00 pm, but even as I write this, the report is thousands are still without power and many may be without power for days to come.
And while the rain did help with the fires in Washington, state, they didn't get enough rain to make a big difference in fighting them.
Temperature wise, it was hot before the storms yesterday, up to low 90s here and then today in the upper 60s with clouds and rain. By next Sunday it's predicted to be back up in the 90s and dry, dry, dry.
Till next time, Tad
Comments
enjoying the warm wind lol my friend
Robin