Text 3392, 67 rader
Skriven 2012-09-03 19:55:18 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
   Kommentar till text 3391 av Roger Nelson (1:3828/7.0)
Ärende: riding the storm out
============================
Roger Nelson wrote to Robert Bashe on Monday September 03 2012 at 11:52:

RN> I'm sending you a map I found that shows the two different fronts as
RN> well as the isobars which accompanied hurricane Cyril. That kind of
RN> detailed information is a rarity with US meteorologists and is what I
RN> look for, but almost never find.

No wonder ;-) Thanks for the map, but I guess you have to be a meterologist to
interpret it. All I can remember were the horrendous winds and the rain, plus a
few lightening bolts in an otherwise pitch-black sky.

I wanted to go out into the back yard to see what had happened, but couldn't
even get out the door, since it was blocked by branches of the tree that had
fallen next to the back of my house. Had to wait until morning to see the
damage, hoping nothing more would happen in the meantime.

Stuff like that can't be rare enough for my taste.

RN> Those evil eyes are to be feared.  There are still thousands of people
RN> in the New Orleans area who cannot return to their homes and thousands
RN> still without electricity.

They have it particularly rough because a) much of New Orleans is under the
water level of the nearby lake and b) the frame houses they tend to build in
the States aren't as sturdy as the masonry here. About the only real solution
for such a situation would be to relocate New Orleans or fill it in until it's
level is higher than the surrounding water, both of which are presumably
impossible or impractical.

RB>> The strange thing about this storm was how selective it was. Some
RB>> parts of town were hardly affected, others like mine absolutely
RB>> devastated. I had to have all except one of the large trees in my
RB>> backyard cut down afterward, since they had become safety hazards.

RN> Sorry to hear.

I ws unhappy about that, but my wife was rather pleased, since in the end we
found the backyard had much more sun than before and she could really get
gardening, as she'd wanted to all the years past.

RB>> The forests nearby were really hit hard, and it took around two years
RB>> to get tham back into a shape where you could walk through them
RB>> without danger of being hit by a falling branch (or tree).

RN> Probably some damage was the result of tornadoes.

There was no mention of tornadoes, and they are extremely rare here in Germany
- I've only read about 2-3 in all the years I've lived here, most of them in
southern Germany. But in a night like that anything's possible.

RB>> We're used to windstorms, generally in February, but this was a real
RB>> monster, the first I've seen as bad as this in the 27 years I've been
RB>> living here.

RN> The two worst storms I've ever seen were hurricanes Camille and
RN> Katrina. The former didn't bother us much and stayed to the east of
RN> the Louisiana coast, but it did tremendous damage to the states of
RN> Mississippi and Alabama. You already know what Katrina did.

You know, if things like that were a fairly regular occurrence here, I think
I'd seriously consider moving to safer ground. One instance of such a storm was
enough to last me the rest of my life.

Cheers, Bob

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