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Sunday, July 13, 2014

"What's all this fuss about thunderstorms..?"


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Quick Update:

Some late afternoon and early evening T-storms and rain are not out of the question for later today but it looks now as if  the cold front, which will trigger the more intense storms and heavy rains, will reach our area tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

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Someone asked me yesterday "I understand hurricanes and tropical storms, but what's all this fuss about thunderstorms...?"

I explained that there are several things to keep in mind regarding T-Storms, especially severe ones.

1.  Exceptionally strong wind gusts that can accompany a  severe T-Storm can cause
 property damage as well as injury.

 [Note to property owners whose houses have been raised:  You might want to check with your contractors to make sure they are aware of the possibility of severe storms tomorrow.]

2.   Additional damage and injury can also occur if the storm is also accompanied by
 large sized hail.  Many years ago I was caught outside in a storm in South Carolina
and was "beaned" by a not so large size hail pellet which was not unlike being struck
by a golf ball someone just teed off on using a Big Bertha wood.

3.  Heavy periods of wind swept rain can make driving extremely dangerous as visibility quickly lessens to almost zero and roadways can rapidly flood!

4.  Finally, lightning strikes can kill you...stay indoors if at all possible!  Nuff said?

Those of you old enough might also remember that 37 years ago today (July 13th, 1977) a "run of the mill" thunderstorm, just north of New York City, struck a Con Edison substation on a hot and humid evening around 9:00 p.m. causing Con Ed's system to crash leaving N.Y.C. without power for more than 24 hours.  People were stranded in subways throughout the city, and civil disorder (looting, arson, etc) was common in many areas of the city. It was not our finest moment!

So, yeah...I guess you could say I take all Thunderstorms seriously and you should also!

And before I forget.....another round of tidal street flooding on West 12th Road will occur again with this evening's 7.0 foot high tide at 10:04 p.m.  Watch your cars!

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