…
I am! I am! I am!”
Thunderstorms
are incredible displays of raw power that manifest on all measurable senses and
on a few that can’t be quantified. They
possess and demonstrate the ability to discard the efforts of mankind to alter
the outermost layers of the earth. They
can, and have, made it impossible to use our highest and most complex levels of
technology. We’re just beginning to
understand them, a long way from fully knowing what keeps some relatively small
and benign while others form into supercell and spawn deadly tornadic
storms.
The flash of
lightning and the clash and rumble of thunder are commonly found in mythical
explanations that are found in multiple cultures. The mythical thunderbird of Native American
mythos is matched with similar African tribal legends, which also attribute
lightning and thunder to a magical bird.
Olympian Zeus is pictured and sculpted with a ready arsenal of thunderbolts,
Thor’s goat-drawn cart rumbles from legend to legend. There is a relatively large list of “thunder
gods” compiled by geographic origin that can be viewed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thunder_gods
Last year, 27
April was a sadly memorable day in this region as well as many other places
between the Rockies and the east coast, as a major tornado outbreak occurred,
shattering records for total storms in outbreaks, and causing large loss of
life along with immense levels of property loss and destruction. There were tornadoes where they rarely happen
including one within 0.1 mile of our home and two more that were within a
linear mile or less of our home. The
common random distribution of vortices within the tornadic funnel was readily
apparent. We were fortunate, suffered no property damage, no injuries, and had
all services restored within 48 hours.
As we lost
power and cable/internet shortly after the first of the three roared by, our
only source of information and warning was our portable, hand-cranked NOAA
weather radio. We’ve since added a smaller and better radio since then. We’ve programmed it to disregard storm
warnings that don’t apply to our location. By doing that, we miss about 90% of
the alerts.
The local
papers and TV stations have been replaying footage of last year’s storm damage
and featuring articles about people who have been able to rebuild and those who
haven’t. The region is not used to
tornadoes, they have been rare here.
Climate change may be responsible for the increased incidence. It may be climate change in association with
other factors. Something has altered the local weather patterns.
The one-year
anniversary has been the cause for some unease as thunderstorms form and roll
in. The weather pattern that brings the
larger and more dangerous cells in after dark is particularly disquieting. We’ve been watching the forecasts and hoping
that there is no repeat outbreak and no repeat storms here.
Imagine our
alarm when the weather radio fired off a warning at 0700 today! Radar displays showed a large squall line
moving toward us from our north west, at 60 MPH. There was apparent wind bowing, suggesting acceleration
over the ground. The relevant Severe
Thunder Storm warning listed likely hail, high winds, and frequent
cloud-to-ground lightning. We just had
time to shower and dress before we were at risk of power loss.
The squall
line hit just as predicted. We received
a quarter inch of rain, moderate winds, no hail, and were treated to a chorus
of thunder peals echoing off valley walls and down the valley. The dog went through her normal thunder
routine. She’s learned to associate the
alarm from the weather radio with thunderstorms.
A certain
amount of skittishness is normal after extreme weather. It is much easier to avoid dysfunction when
it is daylight and the power and commo functions are intact.
Here’s to
Henry Hudson and his keglers!
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