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Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Weather => Topic started by: Hurricane Rex on January 06, 2018, 04:20:04 AM

Title: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Hurricane Rex on January 06, 2018, 04:20:04 AM
Portland is boring, we don't have sever weather however on June 2008, 60 mph suatained winds were reported in my home town with gusts in the 80s. Thunder every 30 seconds or less. No tornados but the sky was still brown (only time I've seen it that way). Ironically the ice cream truck was out 2 hours before this hit.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: jeffandnicole on January 06, 2018, 07:35:04 AM
The macroburst we had about 3 years ago. We didn't lose electric, although much of the surrounding area lost it for up to 5 or 6 days! We even stayed outside in our gazebo tent with the sides down not realizing how bad it was! Our fence was hit with a large limb, and debris was scattered everywhere.

I may even argue this was worse than Sandy in our area (we were in Florida at the time of that storm ironically).
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Brandon on January 06, 2018, 07:50:50 AM
This (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Plainfield_tornado)
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: GaryV on January 06, 2018, 08:25:23 AM
Probably a snow storm we had in Holland, MI when I was in college (just a "few" years back). It started snowing Wednesday night.  Thursday morning I got up and looked out, and knew my visiting prof wasn't going to make the morning class, so I went back to bed.  By the time I got up again, school was closed.

The area was shut down with a total driving ban until Sunday.  (Rumor has it that they really weren't prepared to lift the ban, but they knew the stalwart Hollanders would go to church anyway, and they didn't want to force churchgoers into being lawbreakers.)  The National Guard was called out to rescue people stranded on the highways.

Guys in our dorm were jumping off the 2nd floor balcony into the snow below.  Great fun.  Until someone remembered that somewhere down there was a bike rack that we couldn't see in the snow.

Parking was limited to one side of residential streets for the rest of the winter, until the snow piles finally melted.

A few years later when I moved to the Detroit area, the city issued a "Red Alert Snow Emergency".  Since I had to drive in Detroit to work, I figured I had to stay home that day.  But about 10:30 or so it seemed it wasn't so bad out, so I drove in anyway.  I found out that in Detroit a "Red Alert" meant you couldn't park on the street.  Not like the alerts I was used to from growing up in West Michigan - that unless you were in labor or a doctor headed for the hospital, you were going to be arrested and your car impounded.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Max Rockatansky on January 06, 2018, 02:31:08 PM
Hurricane Bob, I wouldn't classify it as "survival"  though...more annoying and loud.  I was snowbound in my home in Connecticut for about a week after a Nor'easter and I was stuck in Show Low, Arizona for three days following a blizzard either in 2011 or 2012.  Back in 2011 I was snowbound in Willcox, AZ and actually drove through the first clear day to Ruidoso in New Mexico on an ice coated US 70 in the Sierra Blancas.  Back in 2014 a tropical depression started  forming over Key West and had to drive 20 miles home to a high horse power RWD car on a flooded US 1.  Back in 2010 there was a severe hail storm during a monsoon that knocked out a couple pedestrians, I rode it out under a tree while the golf ball stuff came down.  The basement that I was living in flooded overnight during heavy storms in Central Michigan in the late 1990s, fhat was fun wading through to get to the stairs.  Again, none of this I would teen as "survival"  but rather most annoying or tedious. 

Edit:   Probably the most dangerous road trip I did was back in February of 2013 when I went to all 5 National Parks in Utah and Great Basin National Park in Nevada.  There has been a blizzard the week prior and there was at least 2 feet of snow surrounding the roads above 6,000 feet.  The lowest temperature I encountered was -14F near the Nevada State Line.  All the parks except Zion had snow/compacted ice on the roads.  Really I should have been using chains but the only park where I ended up using them briefly was Arches.  I ended up getting a bad tank of gas near Capitol Reef but I didn't stall out and kept going on UT 24 all the way to Green River before I filled up with 91 octane. Really that was one of the most stupid things I willingly subjected myself to knowing full what I was getting into.  That said, it really was worth seeing the Colorado Plateau covered in snow and I was moving to Florida which meant I wasn't sure when I would get another chance to see those parks. 
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: index on January 06, 2018, 02:44:54 PM
Either the 2011 Super Outbreak (or one of the various other Southern outbreaks in early 2011) or the June 2012 Super Derecho.

For the latter, I was in Northern Va. at the time and I was staying at my grandfather's house before taking a flight out of IAD. The storm completely knocked power out overnight, and in the morning there were branches the length of box trucks and about 1-2 feet thick littering the ground. That one was the probably the worst out of them all for me, in terms of firsthand experience.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on January 06, 2018, 03:01:04 PM
1991 Halloween blizzard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Halloween_blizzard), although going by official records I technically wasn't alive yet. ;-)

Edit to add Wiki link.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: 02 Park Ave on January 06, 2018, 03:02:58 PM
I just survived a Bombogenesis this week.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: jeffandnicole on January 06, 2018, 03:19:26 PM
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 06, 2018, 03:02:58 PM
I just survived a Bombogenesis this week.

Which is funny because the actual 'bomb' didn't affect us one bit.  It was basically a 3 inch snowfall, compounded with a windy day and cold temps.  If this was a clipper system, it wouldn't get anywhere near the coverage without the fancy name.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on January 06, 2018, 03:26:02 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 06, 2018, 03:19:26 PM
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 06, 2018, 03:02:58 PM
I just survived a Bombogenesis this week.
Which is funny because the actual 'bomb' didn't affect us one bit.  It was basically a 3 inch snowfall, compounded with a windy day and cold temps.  If this was a clipper system, it wouldn't get anywhere near the coverage without the fancy name.

Which I find funny because this forum is honestly the first place I'd ever seen the word. (And I wasn't quite certain, at first, that it wasn't some nonsense someone like NE2 would make up. ;-))
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Max Rockatansky on January 06, 2018, 03:27:49 PM
^^^^^

Love the new sig.   :-D
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on January 06, 2018, 03:30:12 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 06, 2018, 03:27:49 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 06, 2018, 03:26:02 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 06, 2018, 03:19:26 PM
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on January 06, 2018, 03:02:58 PM
I just survived a Bombogenesis this week.
Which is funny because the actual 'bomb' didn't affect us one bit.  It was basically a 3 inch snowfall, compounded with a windy day and cold temps.  If this was a clipper system, it wouldn't get anywhere near the coverage without the fancy name.
Which I find funny because this forum is honestly the first place I'd ever seen the word. (And I wasn't quite certain, at first, that it wasn't some nonsense someone like NE2 would make up. :-D)
Love the new sig.   :-D

:bigass:
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: jp the roadgeek on January 06, 2018, 04:28:59 PM
I don't remember the Blizzard of '78.  The two that I remember were Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and the July 10, 1989 tornado outbreak.  For the latter, I was at a concert at Giants Stadium in NJ, and the field had about 3" of water on it with lightning all around and an F0 tornado touched down nearby (an F2 and an F4 hit about 20 miles from my home in CT).  Between sets, they were telling everyone to clear the field as we all booed.  It was a crazy night.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Northeastern_United_States_tornado_outbreak
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MikeTheActuary on January 06, 2018, 05:43:41 PM
I don't know how you define worst, but in my life:

- I remember the Blizzard of 78, but wasn't old enough to appreciate the regional impact
- I've been in seven tornadoes
- Hurricane Opal was kind of fun (I lived near the path, about where it was downgraded to a Tropical Storm)
- Snowtober (Halloween nor'easter of 2011) was not

One of the tornadoes, which removed the roof of the building I was in and generally created a mess, probably counts as "most damage to happen in my immediate vicinity".  However Snowtober...being without power for over a week, listening to trees snapping and hearing big branches falling all night, evacuating bedroom when realizing that a tree was about to go (missed the house by inches)...the experience was impressive.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: D-Dey65 on January 06, 2018, 07:14:02 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on January 06, 2018, 04:28:59 PM
I don't remember the Blizzard of '78.  The two that I remember were Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and the July 10, 1989 tornado outbreak.
I remember both Blizzards of '78 (January 20, and the much more infamous one), as well as an ice storm in between the two. For hurricanes my memories include Belle (1976), Gloria (1985), and Bob (1991) on Long Island, and three of the four big Florida hurricanes of 2004, as well as Hurricane Irma last year. For some crazy reason, I don't remember Hurricane Agnes or the Ice Storm of 1973, and I would've remembered something like that.

I do remember the 1974 Super Outbreak. Not because it gave Long Island any tornadoes, but because we got the tail end of it... that and I saw footage of it on the news. Evidently that storm brought us thunderstorms that were so severe, that it took me a little longer to get over my childhood fear of thunder, which I found embarrassing at the age of eight.

The Buffalo Blizzard of '77 , which I also only saw on the news, was also part of a severe winter that brought snow to the tri-state area, and even into Florida. This was the first time in my life I saw snow as a threat. Even the "Lindsay Snowstorm" of '69 didn't do that for me. 

After '78, the only blizzards for me were the Yankee Opening Day Blizzard of '82, the March Blizzard of '83, the "Storm of the Century" in '93, the big blizzard of '96, a long forgotten one from December 2005, and Winter Storm Stella from last March.


One other storm that brought tornadoes to the Berkshires in Massachusetts in the 1990's had a lesser impact on Long Island. I actually remember I was out at a shopping center in Farmingville, and one of the signs to a laundromat was flapping around in the wind, while still sticking to the frame on the building. I had my old Toyota Van at the time, and I offered to catch the thing before it could break loose, and they begged me to do it. I stood on the rear bumper of my van, where I managed to catch one corner, then I caught the other and it landed on my head. I brought it down and gave it to the manager who told me their landlord was taking too long to get them a new sign. They gave me something for free, but I can't remember what it was. Maybe a cup of coffee or something like that.

Beyond that, there have been storms on Long Island and in Florida that I've been through which spawned tornadoes, but I've never had any encounters with those tornadoes.

And I'm sure I'm forgetting others.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: SSOWorld on January 06, 2018, 08:41:37 PM
Tornado through the UW-Platteville campus 1/2 mile north of me.  The loud A/C drowned the sound of it but a brown-out occurred in the apartment.  the warning was a severe thunderstorm warning.  The NWS did not issue a tornado warning because the storm had been dissipating prior to its arrival, then it bowed out right before arrival and dropped the twister 2 miles west of the city.  Had the twister be 1/2 mile further south, I would have been taken flight with my stuff and probably killed.  The overnight reports had shown some photos that with power out in the entire city did not indicate tornado damage and the indication was wind damage.  The next morning I drove into the area and when first seeing the mangled trees, buildings, and lines, thought - if it were not determined to be tornadic,  the NWS was definitely on drugs.

EF2 strength.  An EF1 also touch down in the city and cut through the golf course.  The EF2 seriously damage 5 campus buildings and destroyed homes and businesses east of there.  5 injuries, 1 seriously (had been thrown from apartment's top floor)
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 08:59:42 PM
Hurricane Sandy.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: LM117 on January 06, 2018, 09:22:10 PM
Hurricane Floyd in September 1999. We were living in Warsaw, NC at the time. Nearly all of eastern NC was under water. Our whole yard got flooded and was nearly a foot deep. The water line breaking in the ditch across from our house didn't help either. I was 10 years old back then.

A lot of the rivers reached 500-year flood levels. 17 years later, Hurricane Matthew did more damage than Floyd.

I remember there was a lot of anger directed towards Raleigh from those along the Neuse River in eastern NC at the time because of the dam openings at Falls Lake, which is the source of the Neuse River. A lot of people never forgot it, especially the old timers.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: hotdogPi on January 06, 2018, 09:52:47 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?

He's 9. He used to be either 1000 or -1000 (I forget which).
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 10:16:25 PM
Quote from: 1 on January 06, 2018, 09:52:47 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?

He's 9. He used to be either 1000 or -1000 (I forget which).
1000. He is not really 9 right?
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: hotdogPi on January 06, 2018, 10:17:40 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 10:16:25 PM
Quote from: 1 on January 06, 2018, 09:52:47 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?

He's 9. He used to be either 1000 or -1000 (I forget which).
1000. He is not really 9 right?
No. He became 9 years old to parody dzlsabe, who was supposedly 9 (and then later turned 10) (he was definitely of driving age though).
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Rothman on January 06, 2018, 10:47:31 PM
Tornado, Bloomington, IN, 1978.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Buck87 on January 06, 2018, 11:23:05 PM
Tornado/high winds from a storm in July of 2013. The closest confirmed tornado was about a mile from me, but there was wind damage all over town, including a 50 foot pine tree that went down in my front yard and luckily missed the house.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Rothman on January 06, 2018, 11:28:10 PM
The tornado I experienced blew through my  own neighborhood.  My house wasn't affected, but it destroyed homes on the same street.  One house, despite having its walls blown outward and the roof collapsing, still had a mostly set dining table intact.  Bizarre sight.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Eth on January 07, 2018, 12:41:18 PM
I've been in close proximity (~1-2 miles) to tornadoes twice: the one that hit Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2005 and the one that hit the Georgia Dome in 2008, though I wasn't really in immediate danger from either.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: robbones on January 07, 2018, 01:48:09 PM
I remember the April 1996 tornado that hit Fort Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas which destroyed the little community of Fern in NW Franklin County. I lived about 3 miles from the path of the storm. I also been through Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Isaac when I lived in Mississippi.

LGL64VL

Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Flint1979 on January 07, 2018, 04:54:28 PM
Coming home from Detroit one February morning in 2002 I got stuck in a snow storm that prevented me from leaving the city of Detroit at the time. I remember doing two slides on I-75 in Oakland County, the first one happened in Troy and I was fine and regained control of my car, the second one was a little more challenging it was between M-59 and M-24 (the exit where the Palace of Auburn Hills is) I slid off of I-75 to the right and just missed taking a pole out during my slide off, it took me about 20 minutes to rock my car back up onto the highway and take off again. I'm pretty sure I made it the rest of the way home without sliding again.

Another time when I was a kid my dad had rental units in Mt. Pleasant and we were coming home from Mt. Pleasant with a trailer of trash for some reason and it rained so hard that you couldn't see in front of you at all. I can remember stopping under a bridge and waiting for the rain to let up which it did about a half hour later.

I've probably been in worse but those are two that I remember well.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: freebrickproductions on January 08, 2018, 12:31:01 AM
April 27th, 2011. No tornadoes came near my house, but the Tennessee Valley was one of the hardest hit areas on that day by the storms.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: ET21 on January 08, 2018, 08:49:52 AM
Groundhogs Day Blizzard, and I chased to Rochelle/Fairdale tornado but was never in it's direct path.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Jim on January 08, 2018, 09:44:08 AM
I've been through lots of severe weather in many of its forms, but I don't recall ever feeling that my life was in danger from weather.  The most dangerous weather I've traveled in was probably some ridiculously dense fog in Pennsylvania within the first few years after I started driving.  The most risky probably would be some drives in heavy snow or into other foggy areas, but nothing in particular stands out.  I have not had need to be out traveling at the height of any of the real blizzards we've had.  The most intense thunderstorm drive I can recall was probably on I-95 in southeastern Georgia late in the evening in early January I think in 1999.  I was driving (slowly) through some very heavy rain with wind and frequent lightning.  I later found out that that storm dropped a tornado that crossed I-95, but I don't believe any cars were damaged.  I did not see a tornado.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: kphoger on January 08, 2018, 02:44:29 PM
There was a tornado in Wichita a few years ago that was heading straight for us, then it took a right turn just a few miles from our house.  Other than that, I don't have much to report.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: kphoger on January 08, 2018, 02:48:53 PM
There was one time I decided to take my chances with a tornado.  It was blowing heavy rain with severe weather in the area, and I was making a delivery at the General Dynamics facility in southern Illinois.  While I was there, the tornado sirens started going off, and workers started running around for shelter.  If you don't know what General Dynamics is, they make military ordnance; I was surrounded by things that go boom, including some serious stuff like ordnance for the B-1 bomber.  They offered to me that I could hunker down in their shelter.  I said no thanks.  Felt safer outside the gate than in.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: hotdogPi on January 08, 2018, 03:05:07 PM
I haven't had anything that bad. The worst I remember was being locked inside the house for one day because snow was blocking every door.




Side note:

Most of the United States can have major blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes, or it can have extreme heat. The place without any of these as a frequent occurrence: WV/KY/TN, plus SWVA. If this is the case, why are WV and eastern KY losing population, or gaining population so much slower than the rest of the nation?
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: intelati49 on January 08, 2018, 03:22:05 PM
We literally drove out of Joplin during a Tornado Outbreak (2003) (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/May_4_Tornado_Tracks.jpg)

My ears were popping at the house even though we were miles away from any of the tornado.

My parents have me beat though. They were watching a movie and were a half mile from a tornado.

I have an aunt who had a run-in with a tornado in 1975. She was living in that same apartment until the 2000s. She died in a nursing home in the 2011 Joplin tornado.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: triplemultiplex on January 10, 2018, 10:04:52 AM
A severe thunderstorm that rolled through the boy scout camp I was attending.  Lightning struck a tree just a few dozen meters from where literally hundreds of us children were sitting there outdoors around a large bonfire.  It was a mad dash through torrential rain to reach shelter.  By the time we got there, it was pretty much over.  No one was hurt and most of us thought it was pretty cool, but some kids were a little freaked out.

In retrospect, they narrowly avoided a mass casualty situation at that camp.

It's the kind of thing that's never going to sneak up on a group these days since everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: KEVIN_224 on January 12, 2018, 11:30:32 PM
A severe t-storm with cloud-to-ground lightning here one summer day in New Britain, CT. One bolt struck barely a block to our west. I swear I could hear a buzzing sound as if the electricity was charging up, getting ready to strike.

We had fringe effect of Hurricanes Gloria (1985), Irene (August 2011) and Sandy (October 2012). We had a huge blizzard in February of 2013. A freak tornado tore through Windsor Locks, CT on October 3, 1979. A big portion of the Bradley Air Museum near the airport was destroyed. I was pulled out of third grade classes by my mother early that afternoon.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Pete from Boston on January 13, 2018, 12:03:53 AM
Probably either Hurricane David in 1979, or the October snowstorm of 2011, both in New Jersey.  Both involved many massive trees falling all around.  The latter was more sudden and unexpected and scary, honestly.  Sounded like a war was going on nearby with crashes and booms ongoing.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: HazMatt on January 13, 2018, 12:08:45 AM
Hugo in 1989.  We got off easy and just had to go without power for 3-4 days.  I remember our neighbor had a tree fall into their bathroom while they were using it.  Overall an interesting birthday.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: CNGL-Leudimin on January 13, 2018, 02:35:10 PM
A hailstorm that caught me outside.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: wxfree on January 13, 2018, 02:54:01 PM
I've been within a few miles of quite a few tornadoes.  Some of those storms stand out in my memory, but the one I've always remembered as being the worst at my location didn't produce tornadoes, it was a hail and wind storm.  I believe it was May 5, 1989.  I think of it as the worst because hail is louder than wind, and this storm produced an obscene amount of hail, and not for a short time.  It woke me up with the first few hail stones, then the floodgates opened.  I'd never heard anything like it, and never have since.  I walked around looking out the windows; I was always fascinated by storms.  Wind gusts over 100 were measured in the area and I remember hearing the house groan under the strain.  The hail intensity reduced and I fell asleep beside a window watching stuff blowing around outside.  A little later was the first tornadic storm I remember.  All I saw was wind and rain, but I got to hear the tornado sirens.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Interstate 69 Fan on January 16, 2018, 12:05:20 PM
March 2, 2012 Tornado outbreak
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: NWI_Irish96 on January 16, 2018, 12:53:22 PM
Quote from: Interstate 69 Fan on January 16, 2018, 12:05:20 PM
March 2, 2012 Tornado outbreak

So I was about 20 miles from the worst of those tornadoes when it hit Henryville, IN.  That's the closest I've ever been to an F2 or greater tornado.  I'm not sure I consider it an event that I survived since I wasn't actually in danger from it.

I drove through the massive southeastern winter storm in March 1993 and was probably in more danger than I realized.  I would call that the worst event I survived.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: kphoger on January 16, 2018, 01:01:05 PM
Side topic:  What was the most severe weather event you didn't survive?   :hmmm:
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: vdeane on January 16, 2018, 01:30:52 PM
I didn't know the dead had forum accounts.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: webny99 on January 16, 2018, 01:45:03 PM
Quote from: vdeane on January 16, 2018, 01:30:52 PM
I didn't know the dead had forum accounts.

Linda Of Green Gables says hello  :-D
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: SectorZ on January 16, 2018, 09:00:58 PM
I've never had the privilege of being in anything too horrible, which for someone with a meteorology degree like me is a tad depressing. During the 6/1/11 tornado 'outbreak' around here, there was a probable funnel cloud (hard to tell due to obscuring rainfall) that went almost directly over my home prior home in Fitchburg MA. Radar confirmed the signature of a tornado and we had an active tornado warning out for the storm. So, that close to having a tornado make a direct hit to my house.

Of course, I was watching it from within my garage...
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: formulanone on January 16, 2018, 09:14:48 PM
Hurricane Wilma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Wilma) in October 2005: leaky roof (thankfully a far corner of the house), damaged patio, loss of seven trees, two large rose bushes, one car window, and without power for 11 days.

One big mess, but we made it. Never ran out of food, water, nor needed to deal with long gas lines. Friends and family helped out with clean-up, and there were tons of great experiences that change your perspectives and make for some great stories or lessons.

After the initial shock, the biggest annoyances was the aftermath of missing traffic lights, impatient four-way-stoppers, and dodging debris for a week or so. But the greatest groans came from driving home from work and seeing preceding streets get their power back before you did!
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: gonealookin on January 16, 2018, 09:18:01 PM
I have never been anywhere near a tornado, nor a hurricane.  I did get bounced around in the 1989 "World Series" earthquake in the SF Bay Area but that's a separate topic.

Around Lake Tahoe we have our blizzards, but summer thunderstorms can be worse.  One of the worst recent episodes was in July 2014.  The Carson Valley just over the ridge to the east was hit by some severe flooding.  This video was shot just east of Gardnerville, NV, showing a flash flood coming out of the Pine Nuts.  It was this sort of episode I had in mind when I posted in the US 101-Montecito CA thread expressing concern about the excavated, below-grade portion of I-580 a few miles north of this in Carson City.

https://youtu.be/Is70zxH8_eY

(I'm not "JT Humphrey" who posted the video.)
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: webny99 on January 16, 2018, 09:31:49 PM
1 Lake Ontario
2 80 mph wind gusts last March
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: dvferyance on January 16, 2018, 09:45:10 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?
It dosen't matter anyways the last Titanic survivor died in 2009.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 06:27:57 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on January 16, 2018, 09:45:10 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumb7.shutterstock.com%2Fdisplay_pic_with_logo%2F2733991%2F237231955%2Fstock-photo-iceberg-tearing-a-gash-in-hull-of-the-ocean-liner-titanic-april-drawing-appeared-in-john-237231955.jpg&hash=f358051b8f936b395990cba97e2b0e6124903108)
How old are you?
It dosen't matter anyways the last Titanic survivor died in 2009.
What? Why does that matter?
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: US 89 on January 17, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think that my life has ever been in real danger from weather, but on a family road trip in Montana this summer we drove into a storm with at least quarter-sized hail. When it splashed into the puddles in the median of the interstate, the splashes were at least 2 feet high. Once we were out of that, we stopped at the next town and inspected the car for hail dents (there weren't any).
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:28:54 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think that my life has ever been in real danger from weather, but on a family road trip in Montana this summer we drove into a storm with at least quarter-sized hail. When it splashed into the puddles in the median of the interstate, the splashes were at least 2 feet high. Once we were out of that, we stopped at the next town and inspected the car for hail dents (there weren't any).

(emphasis mine)

I find that hard to believe, if it really were quarter-sized.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: US 89 on January 17, 2018, 10:31:25 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:28:54 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think that my life has ever been in real danger from weather, but on a family road trip in Montana this summer we drove into a storm with at least quarter-sized hail. When it splashed into the puddles in the median of the interstate, the splashes were at least 2 feet high. Once we were out of that, we stopped at the next town and inspected the car for hail dents (there weren't any).

(emphasis mine)

I find that hard to believe, if it really were quarter-sized.

It was definitely quarter sized. I took a picture and sent it to the NWS, and they put it on the national storm reports page as a 1-inch hail event.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: webny99 on January 17, 2018, 10:33:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 06:27:57 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on January 16, 2018, 09:45:10 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
[image snipped]
How old are you?
It dosen't matter anyways the last Titanic survivor died in 2009.
What? Why does that matter?
He was inferring that he survived. That's why you asked, right? Or are you still trying to figure out how old he is just cuz you want to know?  :-D
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 10:35:27 PM
Quote from: webny99 on January 17, 2018, 10:33:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 06:27:57 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on January 16, 2018, 09:45:10 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 06, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 06, 2018, 02:16:22 PM
[image snipped]
How old are you?
It dosen't matter anyways the last Titanic survivor died in 2009.
What? Why does that matter?
He was inferring that he survived. That's why you asked, right? Or are you still trying to figure out how old he is just cuz you want to know?  :-D
If the last survivor died in 2009, he must be very old. Actually, this is inferring that he is a ghost.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:35:46 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 10:31:25 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:28:54 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think that my life has ever been in real danger from weather, but on a family road trip in Montana this summer we drove into a storm with at least quarter-sized hail. When it splashed into the puddles in the median of the interstate, the splashes were at least 2 feet high. Once we were out of that, we stopped at the next town and inspected the car for hail dents (there weren't any).
(emphasis mine)

I find that hard to believe, if it really were quarter-sized.
It was definitely quarter sized. I took a picture and sent it to the NWS, and they put it on the national storm reports page as a 1-inch hail event.

My disbelief was more on the no dents part... I've driven through half-inch (at least) hail before and my car got all kinds of dented up. I guess it depends on the vehicle (and how fast you were going, I suppose). :confused:
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: US 89 on January 17, 2018, 10:37:28 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:35:46 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 10:31:25 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 17, 2018, 10:28:54 PM
Quote from: roadguy2 on January 17, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think that my life has ever been in real danger from weather, but on a family road trip in Montana this summer we drove into a storm with at least quarter-sized hail. When it splashed into the puddles in the median of the interstate, the splashes were at least 2 feet high. Once we were out of that, we stopped at the next town and inspected the car for hail dents (there weren't any).
(emphasis mine)

I find that hard to believe, if it really were quarter-sized.
It was definitely quarter sized. I took a picture and sent it to the NWS, and they put it on the national storm reports page as a 1-inch hail event.

My disbelief was more on the no dents part... I've driven through half-inch hail before and my car got all kinds of dented up. I guess it depends on the vehicle. :confused:

We were surprised as well. It was a newer model (2016 I think?) Subaru Outback.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: DeaconG on January 18, 2018, 10:29:02 AM
Hurricane Jeanne (so far) was the worst weather I've had to deal with (though Matthew got a little too close to home for comfort). The President's Day Blizzard in the DC Metro area in 1983 comes a very close second (I was snowbound for two days) and Tropical Storm Fay would be third (tons of rain flooded the major streets in my area for a couple of days).
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: vdeane on January 18, 2018, 01:55:50 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 10:35:27 PM
If the last survivor died in 2009, he must be very old. Actually, this is inferring that he is a ghost.
Maybe he was on the Titanic in a prior reincarnation.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on January 19, 2018, 04:53:29 PM
Quote from: vdeane on January 18, 2018, 01:55:50 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 10:35:27 PM
If the last survivor died in 2009, he must be very old. Actually, this is inferring that he is a ghost.
Maybe he was on the Titanic in a prior reincarnation.
What else could he have done in that past life?
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: formulanone on January 19, 2018, 05:09:00 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 19, 2018, 04:53:29 PM
Quote from: vdeane on January 18, 2018, 01:55:50 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 10:35:27 PM
If the last survivor died in 2009, he must be very old. Actually, this is inferring that he is a ghost.
Maybe he was on the Titanic in a prior reincarnation.
What else could he have done in that past life?

Posted in an AARoads thread from 1912, that's what. Or perhaps he subscribed to AARoasts, because his fingers were waterlogged.

We're talking about NE2 and ghosts, none of this needs to make sense.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: webny99 on January 19, 2018, 05:14:57 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 19, 2018, 04:53:29 PM
Quote from: vdeane on January 18, 2018, 01:55:50 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 17, 2018, 10:35:27 PM
If the last survivor died in 2009, he must be very old. Actually, this is inferring that he is a ghost.
Maybe he was on the Titanic in a prior reincarnation.
What else could he have done in that past life?
Ask him that  :D
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: brownpelican on January 26, 2018, 11:14:37 PM
Hurricane Katrina
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Beltway on May 30, 2018, 09:36:56 AM
I've been through lots of severe weather, but I don't recall ever feeling that my life was in danger from weather.

The worst would be hurricanes Donna in 1960 and Cleo in 1965, category 1 hurricanes when they came thru our town in central Florida.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: US71 on June 03, 2018, 09:59:00 AM
Driving though a major snowstorm trying to get to Springfield, MO.  Christmas 1983, I think.

I left home early to try to beat the storm and hit the center of it around Monett.  What was normally a 3 hour drive took close to 6. I was snowbound at my parents house for close to a week.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: Takumi on June 03, 2018, 06:08:48 PM
Isabel in 2003. Lots of fallen trees due to the rain on already saturated ground after a wet summer.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: KeithE4Phx on June 03, 2018, 07:19:37 PM
Tornado, Franklin Park IL (Chicago suburb just south of O'Hare Airport), 3/12/1976.  It directly hit my workplace, and the back wall collapsed about 20 feet in front of my workbench.  One man was killed.  It also hit my apartment building a couple of blocks away, tearing the roof off one corner of the building.  One apartment was destroyed but nobody was hurt.

I survived unscathed, but had to evacuate my building for the weekend since other buildings in the neighborhood were severely damaged.  That evacuation almost got me fired.  I couldn't return until Sunday night (March 12 was a Friday), and as it turned out, the company temporarily relocated to the warehouse next door to my building.  My boss couldn't find me, and the phones didn't come back on-line for another couple of days.  To say he was pissed about me not working to get the new location set up was an understatement.  He started screaming at me until I showed him my building.  Only then did he say OK.  I had no idea what was going on until Monday morning when I saw coworkers entering the warehouse.
Title: Re: What would you claim to be the most severe weather event you survived?
Post by: JMoses24 on June 05, 2018, 03:35:05 AM
I have had a couple tornadoes pass over a vehicle I was in. That would be the worst.

If you want to look at instances where I was physically exposed to the wind (not protected by a vehicle), then Hurricane Ike in 2008 easily takes over that top spot. 50 mph sustained winds with 74 mph gusts, easily one of the worst windstorms to impact Ohio.