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oh, what a beautiful morning!
Aug. 13th, 2013 10:09 amwe got jolted out of bed at 0-dark-30 by our weather radio screaming about a tornado. we groggily stumbled down to the basement and started checking weather sites.
no tornado, just a rotating storm racing in our direction. those frequently spawn tornadoes, though, so the warning was warranted.
since a couple people have asked me about previous warnings: no, this area doesn't usually get this many tornadoes or tornado warnings. i grew up in the DC 'burbs, about 150 miles from here. i can't remember any tornado warnings, except during the couple of hurricanes that passed by. during one of those, i saw something that might have been a funnel cloud trying to form, but it never succeeded.
OT1H, more intense storms are a likely consequence of global warming, so they may be more frequent now than the misty days of yore. OTOH, the weather service now has better tools, and posts warnings before tornadoes actually hit, so it may simply be a matter of broader definitions.
dïe überblönde just came back from trying to go to work. the lab complex where she works lost power. apparently, lots of places did, according to whichever radio station she was listening to on the way. also, lots of trees down, and several major roads flooded. looks like we dodged another bullet. our lights just flickered a lot, and i think we've lost all the trees that were likely to fall.
which reminds me: i had our generator PM'd a week or so ago. turns out there was a good explanation for its hard starts and rough running: an ant colony had moved into its air filter. i'm not sure if i should be impressed or worried by that.
yeah, i could maintain the generator myself; it's no harder than working on a car. easier, actually, 'cause all the sides come off, and it's designed for easy service. but... a) the air and oil filters are proprietary, and AFAICT, there are no cheaper third-party makes, since it's such a small niche market; and b) having a maintenance contract for it puts us on the a-list for repairs in case it croaks at an inconvenient time.
no tornado, just a rotating storm racing in our direction. those frequently spawn tornadoes, though, so the warning was warranted.
since a couple people have asked me about previous warnings: no, this area doesn't usually get this many tornadoes or tornado warnings. i grew up in the DC 'burbs, about 150 miles from here. i can't remember any tornado warnings, except during the couple of hurricanes that passed by. during one of those, i saw something that might have been a funnel cloud trying to form, but it never succeeded.
OT1H, more intense storms are a likely consequence of global warming, so they may be more frequent now than the misty days of yore. OTOH, the weather service now has better tools, and posts warnings before tornadoes actually hit, so it may simply be a matter of broader definitions.
dïe überblönde just came back from trying to go to work. the lab complex where she works lost power. apparently, lots of places did, according to whichever radio station she was listening to on the way. also, lots of trees down, and several major roads flooded. looks like we dodged another bullet. our lights just flickered a lot, and i think we've lost all the trees that were likely to fall.
which reminds me: i had our generator PM'd a week or so ago. turns out there was a good explanation for its hard starts and rough running: an ant colony had moved into its air filter. i'm not sure if i should be impressed or worried by that.
yeah, i could maintain the generator myself; it's no harder than working on a car. easier, actually, 'cause all the sides come off, and it's designed for easy service. but... a) the air and oil filters are proprietary, and AFAICT, there are no cheaper third-party makes, since it's such a small niche market; and b) having a maintenance contract for it puts us on the a-list for repairs in case it croaks at an inconvenient time.
