July 16, 2007
Louisa, Virginia
Photographer states :: I couldn't respond to the firehouse for a fire call because of the downed trees. Taken on Ellisville Drive (Rt.669)just after the hardest portion of the storm passed.
This is a darn shame. Trees are like Americans, they bend to stress until they break. This tree is dead. The part of the tree remaining as living is now exposed to insects, disease, stress including loss of sap. It was a gorgeous tree with many years of life to achieve such a status. The wind that causes this is incredibly strong and powerful. It's immediate. Frequently in storms older trees, weaker trees are knocked over and that is why it is better to remove old and weak trees from any property where it is obvious if when they topple a house will be hit and ultimately it's inhabitants.
The wind that causes this is taking down/out/destroying very healthy trees. That is real worry. There is no immunity for any tree stand from this level of disaster. I sometimes wonder how some of our precious national tree-stands are doing. I'll have to get out there and see sometime soon, hopefully. I just never know. Very often my life is not my own to inspect the areas of 'concern' I would like, so I 'check out' the internet when I can.
But.
This tree is making me upset. If one looks at the remaining 'stump' in this picture, it is jagged and coarse. It yielded NOT to direct impact or a lightning strike. This tree had it's cellulose 'sheered' in a tortuous event. In other words, the wind was causing the tree to 'whip' in directions that put the trunk in a bending circle. The cellulose of that trunk could not withstand the tortuous movement of the trunk to prevent it from breaking. The size of that trunk is not any easy one to break. That means the wind that caused the tortuous 'tearing' of the cellulose had incredibly high energy. Dangerous, very. I wouldn't be venturing out into these storms when they occur.
People need to have 'safe rooms' to retreat to when these storms occur. Sometimes that can be a basement but keep in mind a basement floods and no one wants to be trapped in a rising water level. There are areas of the country where basements are not a reality. If a household wants to designate a 'safe area' within a home where there is little to no chance of glass shattering and perferably where there are strong beams it can be made into a small entertainment area where emergency radio can be turned on with batteries and a small public band radio can call for help if necessary. Children can be educated to this 'special safe place' and be allowed to spend time in it even if there is no severe weather. The room needs to be 'child proof' with storage areas for radios and batteries as well as plenty of favorite books and crayons. Right? Parents know what makes their children happy. Bottled water, snacks and short term safety plans until help arrives. Okay? Okay.
Now this picture above. There is a lot of water in the ditch to the left. There is actually two streams of water. A lot of water, a severe storm. Severe downpour. In these 'running' streams are lines of white bubbles. Those bubbles are 'aeration' of the water. They occur because there are 'currents' in those small streams of water. That is very fast running water with conflicting movement. It isn't safe for a child to step into without being knocked over. The water is moving at a very high velocity on nearly a level road. That tells me how much water was dumpd in this event. There is a 'piling up' of the water on the available 'gully' surface. Water always takes the path of least resistance. Always. So does anything in it's path.
In the picture below, if there was warm air in the vacinity and the reality is that the ice 'should be' melting, it could be that the air mass delivering the hail was frozen at very high altitudes. If that is the case then this was a high altitude supercell and explains the torturous winds that destroyed that beautiful tree.
July 16, 2007
Louisa, Virginia
Photographer states :: Representative size of the two inches deep hail from storm on 7/16/07.
That is a very cold looking hand. That is not just a hail storm affiliated with a tornado although it probably came very close to that level of turbulence. The hail on the ground is not melting quickly. This hail came from an infusion of Arctic Air that belongs over The Arctic Ocean. Long way from home. It has to be because if the air wasn't as cold as the ice there would be nearly immediate melting and this photographers hand would not be showing signs of 'cold exposure.' Flushed fingertips, wrinkled skin at the palms which tend to be blanched. Has to be cold air from the Arctic. I haven't looked at a satellite to know for sure so maybe I'm getting it wrong, but, I like to test my observational skills.
July 15, 2007
Licking, Missouri
Photographer states :: THIS IS THE HAIL WE GOT HERE AT 5 PM SUNDAY EVENING LASTED ABOUT 8 MINS AND GOT .50 INCHES OF RAIN IN ABOUT 15 MINS
AmerenUE Announces $1 Billion 'Project Power On' Reliability and Environmental Improvement Program (click here)
Customers in 62 Missouri counties will benefit from improved reliability,
upgraded delivery system, and enhanced environmental performance
ST. LOUIS, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AmerenUE, a utility
operating company of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), plans to invest $1
billion over the next three years to improve reliability, upgrade delivery
systems, and enhance the environmental performance of its power plants.
"With the severe weather patterns of the past few years and a focus on
improving air quality, we are working even harder to ensure reliability for
our customers of today and tomorrow," said Thomas R. Voss, president and
chief executive officer of AmerenUE. "We've been working closely with
community officials and leaders across our system to determine the best
approach for improving our delivery system, while ensuring that we meet the
growing demand for energy."
Named "Project Power On," this three-year initiative involves a
commitment over and above the $500 million per year the company has been
spending on efforts to upgrade and maintain the system....
