[Revenge Tour]

I live in Michigan so we get the occasional tornado or late-spring snow but that's really about it. Today's forecast was calling for severe weather but it looks like it's beginning to pass. I have always been fascinated with tornadoes and would love to witness one provided nobody got hurt or property got destroyed.

Not really weather-related, but I was in Michigan and there was an earthquake in Canada and I was at work and could literally feel the building shake. Everyone wondered what it was. Also, I was in Virginia when Hurricane Hugo hit. Virginia wasn't in the direct path but it rained like nobody's business. The sheer power of nature is amazing.

[divine1966]

It was in early 90s. I saw hail the size of an egg. It killed lots of vegetation, trees, bushes etc it didn’t last long but it was like big rocks falling down. Awful. In the middle of the summer. Sky went dark and then it started

[Mountaindewed]

I was on vacation in Canada in 2018 and we had just been at Niagra Falls. When we were driving to our hotel there was a bad thunderstorm with a lot of ligthing. I just felt so scared being out of the country for the first time. I don't know why. Our hotel was weird. I took a melatonin and then slept all night and then enjoyed Canada a lot during the day.

The thunderstorm was freaky. It felt different then the ones in the states. I don't know if that was real or in my head.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewed

I was on vacation in Canada in 2018 and we had just been at Niagra Falls. When we were driving to our hotel there was a bad thunderstorm with a lot of ligthing. I just felt so scared being out of the country for the first time. I don't know why. Our hotel was weird. I took a melatonin and then slept all night and then enjoyed Canada a lot during the day.

The thunderstorm was freaky. It felt different then the ones in the states. I don't know if that was real or in my head.

I feel safer in Canada than in many places. I live close to Canadian border. I always think that if something goes downhill here, I am heading towards the border.

What always surprises me in Canada is color of greenery and grass. It’s very green. I’ve read somewhere why. Forgot why, I think more moisture?

[Nammu]

When I was about 9 I refused to come in and cower in the basement. I saw the tornado that took our neighbors roof off. Never will forget it.

I was maybe a year older we had a whiteout blizzard. Since I read how dangerous they were I had to of course go out in it. We were without power for days from that storm.

As an adult I have a lot of respect for Mother Nature and always find a safe place to wait out storms now

[eskielover]

Oh, have experienced lots of wild weather in my lifetime.

Started off the wild was arriving in Topeka Kansas the week after the 1966 F-5 tornado went for 22 miles through the city. The damage was unlike anything I had ever seen but then I was only 13 years old. First hand look at homes blown off their foundations. My grandparents thought it was heading right for their home but took a diffetent path through the city. They said it was 4 blocks wide .

Another probably "not so wild" for people who live in northern US or Canada but it sure was for someone from So. Calif. We always winter vacationed, when I was married, to our condo in Jackson Hole Wyo. That winter was extremely cold.....like -40F cold. I was out walking in town & my lungs were crackling when I breathed. I had no idea it was that cold until I got back to the condo & saw the weather channel. Ugh, we were out skiing in -20F those days. One run down the hill & my feet were frozen. Took forever to thaw them out. Made several ski runs that day before I had enough.

Moved to Ky in May 2007. 2nd winter here (2009) there was an ice storm several days long. Then snow & more ice. Totaled a week & the electric went out for the whole
week. I did buy a gas generator so I could cook canned soup & charge my phone. My neighbor had 22 horses & lived so far away he couldn't drive here so I hiked across my field on the ice, climbed his gate & fed his horses & broke up ice in their water buckets. It was interesting because my woods on my farm sounded like a rice krispies bowl of cereal. The ice was so heavy on the trees it was continually breaking branches on the trees & actually broke many trees in my woods. Later in the week I drove through the Ky River Palasaides to my friends house to warm up a little. The ice on all the trees looked like everything was covered in crystal & all the fences too. It was actually the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

A year ago in May I was upstairs & heard this horrible pounding noise & realized it was hail....not small hail but hail the size of my hand (bigger than a golf ball) it was interesting to watch it bounce on the grass & land on my front deck. Oh ya, I had no idea the damage it was doing to my almost new roof I had put on 5 years earlier. Insurance covered another new roof & rain gutters cause it was damaged so bad. Metal Barn roofs actually ended up with huge hail sized holes in them.

This year we have had bad winds with our storms....I could actually feel the 75+mph gusts moving the walls of my brick house. Needless to say I had a huge tree come down in my front side field & 10 trees were blown down in my woods. It actually blew metal off around my front door & several areas of my learguards on my gutters need replaced.

Our storms have been strange this year. I have a weather app that shows all the lightning strikes. It is like the lightning is doing target practice right over the 10 mile radius around my farm.....solid yellow over the area not just single strikes here & there. The lightning has been so continuous in many storms you can look out at night & everything stays lit up like daylight.

We just had another massive wind storm hit a few weeks ago & a huge chunk of one of my side field trees landed in the road. Luckily the state road department was out in an hour to clear it off the road.

Our electric linemen & road department around here are the best. Seriously wild weather is becoming the norm in my life.

We did have a small tornado that hit on the other side of town this last spring. It actually started right across the street from where a friend of mine lives....like I said....strange weather seems to be the norm in my life

[MuddyBoots]

February on Mt. Washington, NH. 70mph winds with like a -50F windchill. No storm. Just a regular, relatively tame saturday.

As for not being on a mountain, we had this ice storm that knocked down practically every tree, bush, powerline in the state in 2008. Outta power for two weeks.

[eskielover]

Originally Posted by MuddyBoots

February on Mt. Washington, NH. 70mph winds with like a -50F windchill. No storm. Just a regular, relatively tame saturday.

As for not being on a mountain, we had this ice storm that knocked down practically every tree, bush, powerline in the state in 2008. Outta power for two weeks.

Wow, what an experience. Before I experienced an ice storm first hand I didn't even know what they were let alone how much damage they could actually do. They make everything look so beautiful covered in thick ice but the destruction is unbelievable

[divine1966]

We had an huge ice storm this past February that knocked power lines down. We had no power for days. We had schools closed because schools had no power. And my brother had a tree fall on a drive way knocked lines down and they couldn’t even get to their garage to get their cars.

[lizardlady]

I live in Florida. Need I say more? Wild weather is the norm.

We are currently in the middle of hurricane season. I'm hoping we have a quiet season this year. Ivan went through the area last year. I normally evacuate, but couldn't get a couple of cats in their carriers. Scared the poo out of me. Then there was the 2004 season. We had FIVE major storms go through. I could not get home for a week after the first one, Charlie, due to trees blocking the roads. Some areas never recovered from the destruction.

Some of you mention rainstorms with the water gushing down and lightening strikes. Florida gets storms like that on a daily basis in the summer. Rain so heavy you have to pull off the road because you can't see. Oh yeah, we are the lightening capitol of the world.

[MuddyBoots]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, lizardlady, but the gulf is in a severe marine heatwave right now so any tropical storm is going to strengthen like crazy. Not to mention the coral reefs are dying because they can't handle the heat so the shorelines will be less protected from the water. Be prepared and be safe. It's awful what's happening to this planet.

[splitimage]

Most intense weather I've ever experienced was definitely Hurricane Andrew. I was in Florida for a company sales meeting when it hit. We were given a choice between evacuating and holing up in the hotel. The Canadian contingent voted to stay, so everyone was huddled together in the ballroom on the 5'th floor (no windows). It was pretty scary. Storm surge flooded the first two floors of the hotel.

[eskielover]

I forgot one wild experience. It was just a normal thunder storm. I had my horse up on the hill at a neighbors barn. I always took her in the barn before a storm. Got up on the hill before the storm hit & she insisted on staying at the far end of her large turnout area & refused to come....standing under a power pole with a transformer on it. Rain started coming harder & lightning flashing all around. She still refused to come. I walked down to the end where she was (completely drenched). She still didn't want to come in & kept moving away.....UNTIL lightning hit the ground about 500ft away with a huge cracking sound. Then she came & we ran the whole way into the barn. I can handle being out in rain but when lightning strikes that close.....no thank you. We were all safe & got dried off but that was too close of a call with lightning for me

[lizardlady]

Splitimage, Andrew was a BEAST! I'm far enough north we were not impacted, but parts of South Florida were demolished. I'm glad you were okay.

[lizardlady]

Eskie, that sounds REALLY scary

[Revenge Tour]

Originally Posted by MuddyBoots

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, lizardlady, but the gulf is in a severe marine heatwave right now so any tropical storm is going to strengthen like crazy. Not to mention the coral reefs are dying because they can't handle the heat so the shorelines will be less protected from the water. Be prepared and be safe. It's awful what's happening to this planet.

What is happening to our planet is downright frightening. I hear all the reports on global warming but we sure don't seem to be doing much about it. I'm no environmental engineer but there HAS to be a way.... somehow. I know EV cars are all the rage but even those leave a footprint with the mining for lithium and battery disposal.

There's no easy answer and, knowing how people are, much like the mask requirement during COVID, there will be a lot of resistance if mandates are put in place to limit emissions, recycle more, etc. at home or at work.

About 25 years ago (wow I'm dating myself here!) We had a derecho (like a tornado, but straight wind) on labor day. The first week of school was cancelled (woowoo!), uprooted trees, trees through roofs, no electricity for a week. It was crazy. Never saw anything like it.

Originally Posted by divine1966

I feel safer in Canada than in many places. I live close to Canadian border. I always think that if something goes downhill here, I am heading towards the border.

What always surprises me in Canada is color of greenery and grass. It’s very green. I’ve read somewhere why. Forgot why, I think more moisture?

So the grass really is greener on the other side!? (I'll show myself out )

I very much want to visit Canada (though maybe not so much at the moment, since its been burning). I'm near the border too, been to Toronto a couple times as a kid. I'd love to go back and visit there and also do some hiking.

The area where I live doesn't get a lot of severe and weird weather, but it has happened. One time in August about ten years ago, I guess, something weird happened. August is normally a month when it never rains and not much weather activity. It's always sunny and hot at that month. Well anyways, after work one day I planned to go on a short bike ride before dinner but decided not to go because it was threatening to rain, which is unusual. It rained heavily, but that's not all. At one time, I couldn't see out my window and it was like whiteout. What had happened was a small tornado (I guess but the weather experts said it wasn't) passed by. There was a house across the alley that had its roof blown off and, at the small airport nearby, the airplanes (the small private types) were flipped over upside-down.

[Pflowers]

Been caught out in tornadoes a time or two ...

Used to storm chase as a hobby too, long before it became a thing!

After a couple of close calls I quit doing that.

I do follow (on social media) those that do though, and often wonder ...

What in the hell was I thinking?

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by Pflower

Been caught out in tornadoes a time or two ...

Used to storm chase as a hobby too, long before it became a thing!

After a couple of close calls I quit doing that.

What in the hell was I thinking?

LOL!!!!!

[eskielover]

Originally Posted by Pflower

Been caught out in tornadoes a time or two ...

Used to storm chase as a hobby too, long before it became a thing!

After a couple of close calls I quit doing that.

I do follow (on social media) those that do though, and often wonder ...

What in the hell was I thinking?

LOL!!!!!!! I get that. When the tornado sirens go off I stand outside & watch. Best place to watch was on top of the hill where I had my horse at the neighbors farm. There was a 360° view up there. Never saw a tornado thank heavens

[Soupe du jour]

Over the course of the nearly 50 years I spent in my native New Jersey, there have been some wild weather days. Not just heavy snows, extreme flooding, hurricanes/tropical storms, and very quick switches from very warm/hot days to cold ones. What stands out in my memory are two occasions:

One was a day when I was actually in New York City. It started out a pleasant sunny day, then all of a sudden an extreme wind storm showed up. It was like being in a hurricane! Then suddenly calm again. It was kind a WTF moment.

The second was sometime in the early to mid 1980s. We had a nor'easter blizzard, but what made it extra wild were the extreme snow drifts. I grew up on a semi-rural road. The way the snow drifts formed it was like the road looked like a capital "U" with the lowest part of the "U" even about 2 feet deep. No one could possibly go anywhere, even if they wanted to. It was even much worse than the day, years later, shown in the attached photo my husband took from our then house.

Over the years a few decent blizzards with up to 60mph winds in some cases. Nothing too dangerous if you were inside. Many hurricanes would die out over where I grew up but by the time they got to us they were pretty exhausted. Again up to 60mph winds were common with those and mucho rainfall of course. Nothing too extreme but occasional minor flooding and some wind damage. There have been a couple of hurricanes in recent years that did some significant damage [100mph wind gusts] but I wasn't there for those.

[nonightowl]

Thunder and lightning, with hail falling while the sun was also out. It also rained but not too hard.

In 2010 I still remember how it reached 113 downtown, even hotter than the deserts. I still had a very old box type "room" a/c which seemed to be struggling and not helping at all. It was 90 in this crap apartment. I didn't go out. I heard nobody else out and about, not even traffic going by. No one talking, no music. It was deathly quiet and deathly HOT.

13 years ago and I still remember. I was up around 2:30 am, trying to read as I couldn't sleep anyway.

I also remember how in 1997-98, in December I think, it rained for about 14 consecutive days. And HARD too, along with wind. It's unusual to get that much.

One time in the 80's, while driving to school, it was raining so heavily it was hard to see the white lines of the lanes. They just disappeared!

In April of I think 87 or 88, I was at an airshow on a sunny day. Suddenly it got very cloudy, and COLD. The wind picked up and it began to POUR. I mean cats and dogs. Everyone panicked and packed up their stuff, fleeing for cover. Lightning happened too. Of course the airshow was cancelled. That spring storm seemed to come out of nowhere. Someone said to me, before it happened, that "the sky doesn't look right."