Storm of 2012. Demon of the Air.

Open Source Survival website. ^ | July 7, 2012 | Ronin Gael and Brother Rat

[Lowell1775]

Adding to Brother Rat’s ongoing storm narrative and also using his bullet(s) point format…….

BULLET: Blown away?

Like many of the other OSS staff and contributors my family was at ground zero for the surprise fast moving linear windstorm that started in northwest Indiana and spread out like a flood across Ohio, northeast Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. Washington DC was especially hard hit. My prayers go out to all affected.

The storm sped across 700 miles in 12 hours through the Midwest, north Appalachian, and mid-Atlantic states. At peak impact, over 3 million households were without power. The storm at last count, was blamed for thirteen immediate deaths, with scores more of the elderly and infirm dying from heat stroke without air conditioning in its aftermath.

Straight line winds were recorded at 90 miles and hour throughout its course.

BULLETS: The Track.

Thanks to NOAA we have several good maps to show the origin and outcome of the storm.

(more…)

[Lowell1775]

My locale was struck by the great wind storm of 2012. Nearly lost my wife who got trapped in the middle of a large lake on a pontoon boat and barely got it beached before disaster.

The Open Source site has several good articles on how small town America and Americans dealt with and are dealing with the disaster. Lots of video links to YouTube with film of the storm from along its track.

Our power was only out a few hours.....looks like these guys were dead center and down for a week or more.

Many lessons to be learned here from others' pain.

[Travis McGee]

Very, very impressive storm system!

[Wings-n-Wind]

the derecho storm STARTED JUST WEST OF CHICAGO...

******

And DEVASTATED THE NATION'S CAPITAL CITY -- D.C. & METRO AREA...

Who knew that could happen....

[Ransomed]

We had the brood one 17 year cicadas this year, and they split the twigs of trees to lay their eggs. The wind came up and along with the big stuff there was tons of the twigs down as well. I wonder if there will be a lot less around in 17 years.

Freegards

[cripplecreek]

Who knew that could happen

I always watch the west for incoming weather. The worst of the heat is heading east now.

[Figment]

I hate when anything bad happens on the mid atlantic coast. We’ll never quit hearing about it. Thank the Lord that Alabama (last year) and it’s 400 or so killed in tornadoes, wasn’t on the eastern seaboard

[HokieMom]

Interesting to watch on You Tube. Looks like something out of Ghostbusters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MG7aOjZciY

[Lurker]

This storm got its “wind up” just west of my house. 1 mile north of us and 1 mile south of us folks were without power for almost a week smack in the middle of a 100 + degree heat wave.

We were fortunate and didn’t lose power at all, but Mrs. L and I both have co-workers who suffered though it. My next purchases are a tri-fuel kit for my 6kw gen set, and a nice little Rubbermaid shed to put it in. I’m going to hook the gen set to the house NG line, insulate the crap out of that little shed to keep the noise down, and we will be good to go indefinitely as long as the NG grid holds up.

I’ve lived in the Midwest my entire life and this storm was as bad as anything I’ve ever seen. I WILL be ready for the next one.

Period.

Best wishes for you and yours, Matt.

L

[Dilbert San Diego]

I hate when anything bad happens on the mid atlantic coast. We’ll never quit hearing about it. Thank the Lord that Alabama (last year) and it’s 400 or so killed in tornadoes, wasn’t on the eastern seaboard

---

Since the media is so concentrated in New York and Washington, DC, they magnify any events which affect the east. It affects their reporting when it hits close to home.

And since they use any event as symtomatic of global warming, they use this storm as evidence of same.

[shibumi]

"...fast moving linear windstorm that started in northwest Indiana and spread out like a flood..."

OK. I guess it's time for me to 'fess up.

I ate at my favorite Greek restaurant that night and broke wind.

[cripplecreek]

I hate when anything bad happens on the mid atlantic coast. We’ll never quit hearing about it. Thank the Lord that Alabama (last year) and it’s 400 or so killed in tornadoes, wasn’t on the eastern seaboard

Kinda like lake effect snow. You always hear about it in Buffalo but never hear about it in Michigan. Some parts of the state get dumped on all winter long.
About 10 years ago 85+ mph winds took the roof off my porch and put it in the tree behind the house. It went over the house without touching it and landed perfectly about 25 feet up. It sat there for nearly a week before we finally cut the tree down. The roof and support weighed an easy 2 tons.

Fortunately the lakes also tend to protect michigan from the worst of the summer storms but we still get bad ones.

[cripplecreek]

Has anybody looked up what derecho means?

Dictionary
1. adjective lado, mano right; ( recto ) straight; ( vertical ) upright, erect; Central America lucky
2. adverb straight, direct; ( verticalmente ) straight, upright
3. masculine right ( a to, de infinitive to infinitive ); law ( ciencia ) law; ( en abstracto ) justice; right side de papel; derechos plural commerce due(s); ( profesionales ) fee(s); ( impuestos ) tax(es); con derecho rightly, justly; con derecho a with a right to; conforme a derecho according to law; colloquial, ¡no hay derecho! it’s not fair!; reservados todos los derechos copyright; tener derecho a have a right to, be entitled to.

[mardi59]

I was at work when this blew through NW Indy.

The sky was very dark and I walked outside for a break. I got a few feet away from the building when the wind just came out of nowhere. I looked to my right and saw plants being ripped from their pots and thrown across the parking lot with the pots right behind them like missiles.

When I turned to run back in the building the air was sucked right out of my lungs by the wind hitting me in the face. I was almost knocked over but managed to make it inside when the rain came in buckets. I don’t mind saying that I was really terrified for the first time in a long time.

[w1andsodidwe]

This one happened last summer. Started in Central Iowa and went to Detroit and then into Canada. Didn’t hit the east coast so little news coverage. I had family at ground zero of that one.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx/?n=july2011derecho

[cripplecreek]

I got some pictures of the clouds from that storm right before the rain.

[Travis McGee]

Time for me to buy a gennie for the house, for sure.

[MCSP2008]

Salve

I hope you are all well.

Merci.

[Ezekiel]

the derecho storm STARTED JUST WEST OF CHICAGO... ****** And DEVASTATED THE NATION'S CAPITAL CITY -- D.C. & METRO AREA...

What with the shape of those "waves" emanating from Chicago, it looks like that storm is shouting something important.

[Lurker]

Here is a partial parts list:

Generac GP5500
Reliance Mfg manual transfer switch kit
US Carburator Tri fuel kit. (you can install this yourself)
30 amp extension cords
Propane tanks if you don’t have reliable NG service.
Rubbermaid 35 CF backyard shed.
Miscellaneous connection hardware
Time
A bit of sweat.
YouTube videos

Took me about 12 hours of above referenced sweat. Total cost around $1300, all brand new. I’m sure you could do much better.

Good luck. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

[Salamander]

Yup.

That’s them.

I was sitting on the Harley in a parking lot in town, 20 miles from home, staring at them and wondering why something primitive in me said “Huh...*that* can’t be good”.