Thunderstorms Options

[Decrepit]

We might be somewhat off-the-hook. The atmosphere has remained stable enough to lessen the chance of severe storms from the nasty front moving across the region today. <crosses fingers>

[Decrepit]

It's one of those days.

I was sitting here at the computer, watching a YT video, as my Paperwhite recharged. All of a sudden, I hear the distinct sounds of a thunderstorm. If I can hear a storm, it's gotta be significant. I fired up the living room TV. Local TV didn't have weather coverage of any sort, not even a scrolling bar. I left the TV on and returned to the computer.

Within minutes I hear hail hit the roof. I return to the TV. Nothing. Looked out the living room window. It's raining cats and dogs. I've had enough dogs today, thank you. I returned to the computer and fired up my online weather channel of choice. It showed my town smack in the middle of a severe storm. Then POOF! Electrical outage.

It was short-lived, lasting no more than five-ten minutes. By the time I booted into Windows and again launched my online weather channel, the storm was exiting my town to the east.

Neither PC nor Paperwhite seems damaged. <crosses fingers>

[Decrepit]

Checking local weather a few minutes ago, I was greeting with a Red Flag Warning in effect from 1300 until 2000 today. Don't recall ever seeing that before. Here's what it means:

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR
STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS...LOW HUMIDITY...AND LOW FUEL MOISTURE FOR
PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...

The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued a Red Flag
Warning, which is in effect from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Thursday.

* WIND...20 foot winds between 12 to 20 mph.

* HUMIDITY...relative humidity values below 25 percent.

* 10 HOUR FUEL MOISTURE...10 percent or less

* IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.
Outdoor burning is not recommended.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

[Acadian]

We have those conditions all the time out here in the desert. Fortunately, rocks don't burn and we gotz no treez.

[Decrepit]

Yet another severe winter front is hitting my area, beginning this afternoon and lasting until Wednesday afternoon. The threat from this one is ice accumulation that will result in tree damage and power outages. It's predicted to not be as bad as 2009's ice disaster, but bad enough to cause similar results. In my case, the 2009 icing resulted in loss of power for over five days. (Longer for my brother.) I survived that one by living on a mattress in front of a neighbor's gas fireplace, which I assume had its own fuel source. (They stayed with relatives in an area unaffected.) I'm not as robust as I was back then, and have different neighbors, so hope whatever happens isn't as long-lasting.

[mirocu]

We have those conditions all the time out here in the desert. Fortunately, rocks don't burn and we gotz no treez.

I think Acadian's got it down. He made sure to live somewhere there's zero risk for snow storms, floodings or fires

[Acadian]

Funny you should say that. . . I'm watching snow fall right now and we have about an inch on the ground so far. We do have the ocassional light snow and very rarely a pretty good snowfall.

[Decrepit]

Well poot! We are under our first tornado watch of the year. It's quite unusual to get them this early. The likely cause is warmer than usual temps. As for the watch, it's thankfully short-lived, at the moment due to expire at 0800. We shall see.

ADDENDUM: The watch ended early. Were it a bit warmer I'd go for an exercise-walk, carrying an umbrella just-in-case.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Mar 3 2023, 02:43 PM

[Decrepit]

If the forecast holds true, we are in for a very rough afternoon/evening (up until around my normal bedtime). Strong winds, large hail and possibly strong tornadoes. An irony is that, two Monday's ago, driving to Walmart for groceries, our local NPR affiliate announced that an El Nino we've been subject to for the past three years is over, and that we should now see fewer severe storms. Since then, parts of Mississippi have been flattened by tornadoes. Today's storm front is, on paper, about the worst (locally) I've seen quite some time.

[Decrepit]

Well poot! We face our first major severe storm threat of 2025, beginning later today and through tonight, including a tornado threat, wind gusts of up to 50mph, lots of rain, and so on. I ... oops, it's time to end this morning's home-administered IV antibiotic treatment (the first of three such treatments) and prepare breakfast (bacon & eggs). <posts comment and exits site>

[mirocu]

Tornado season already?

Stay safe, Decrepit!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Yep, starts earlier and earlier. We have some really bad weather coming today at around noon. Supposed to last until midnight.

[Acadian]

Hope everyone weathers the storms. Or at least is able to dance between the raindrops.

[macole]

Aside from a few small tree branches falling, we survive here. There was a serious hailstorm along with over 2" of rain. Thankfully my new week-old roof and gutters held on tight.

[Decrepit]

I survived (duh!). Woke at midnight that night to the sound of the town's alert sirens. Quickly turned on the living room TV, which hadn't been turned on since our last weather scare. Sure enough, it broadcast solid local storm coverage. First thing I heard (and saw on the weather map) was a warning of a potential tornado on the ground just north of town. Thankfully it either never touched down or passed us by. At least one nearby city wasn't so lucky, though I don't think the damage was extensive there I watched the broadcast for a solid hour until the storm front moved beyond my immediate area. We did get some scary-sounding hail during that hour, but checking outside this morning showed no damage.

[Dark Reaper]

I miss thunderstorms, up here in Kansas it's been pretty dry.

[mirocu]

I miss thunderstorms

We had a proper weird one last year. Not kidding; for two hours straight we had a constant stroboscope lighting going on. And I mean constantly for two hours without any break. Never experienced anything like it.

[Decrepit]

<sighs> This is a potentially deadly day for us. What, until midday yesterday, was projected as a Level-3 severe weather threat is now Level-5, the very highest level, lasting from roughly 1600 until around 2100. Then . . . three days of lesser storms and solid rain, with flooding expected. I might, for the first time, seek safety in a storm bunker near City Hall. As for the rest of the day, I have a medical appointment at 0900 but should be home way before anything overly scary happens.

[Acadian]

Good luck weathering the storms, Decrepit!

[Decrepit]

<sighs> I survived our Wednesday level-5 storms, though many nearby weren't as fortunate. Yesterday was, at times, scary too, but nothing compared to the day before. Today, Friday, our threat is again bumped up, from level three (medium) to level four. Once that ends we face what has always been the worst threat of this stretch of miserable weather: constant torrential rains with a strong possibility of flash and river flooding. As of now, my thought is to unplug my primary computer either at the end of the day or sometime tomorrow and place it somewhere a few feet above floor level, just in case. My secondary computer will remain in place. What is planned to become my "new" secondary computer is already moved to a "safer" location. Of course, if things go as badly as they might, no amount of repositioning will help. Then again, I might get off scot-free or nearly so.