Dodged a Bullet Last Night

From the damage I estimate an F2-F3 tonado 2-3 miles from my home. A total of 8 touched down in High Point last night.

Scary stuff.

Pictures from a nearby neighborhood:

formatting link

Reply to
GarageWoodworks
Loading thread data ...

last wall.

Glad you're o.k.

jc

Reply to
Joe

... It is amazing what can be left amid destruction -- I've seen sheet music still on the piano at the page it was left when room walls/ceiling gone around it.

NOAA has gone to an "enhanced Fujita" rating system -- same idea, just updated estimates based on more detailed damage comparisons over time.

I'd guess this would equate to EF-2, not EF-3 or just barely 3-level. (From tornado alley country...)

--

Reply to
dpb

Two to three miles is just about the right distance...

Keep up the good work! :)

Reply to
Morris Dovey

Absolutely! It was the closest I've ever been to one. I should correct my original post. A total of 8 touched down including the surrounding areas.

Reply to
GarageWoodworks

...

Agreed...fortunately, the house/farmstead has never suffered more than a very tiny one that moved one silo (rotated it on foundation about a foot) but they've been all around over the years.

And, btw, the previous post only intended as comment on the new rating system; any are big enough to not want to mess with and certainly if one takes _your_ house it's entirely too big... :(

Son the elder is in Raleigh but didn't seem too bad there last night; just some t-storms. Didn't hear of any injuries, fortunately???

Season is just 'round the corner for us'ns...first thunder of spring night before last (not counting the thunder snow of about a couple of weeks earlier, anyway)...

Severe weather watcher annual training/refresher meetings/sessions underway for storm spotters; think mine is next week---really ought to double-check on that...

--

Reply to
dpb

-------------------------------------- Glad to see you and yours are OK.

Take care.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Glad you got through it. Those things do weird things. Wichita and Andover Kansas was hit by an F5 during the early 90's that tore up McConnell AFB, southeast Wichita and decimated the south part of Andover. We watched it move across the southern horizon for 10-15 minutes before heading to the basement. It hit a friends house just east of us and took one end out of the living area and removed two walls from his garage shop. He never found his floor drill press and his Unisaw was about three blocks from the house inside of another house. His work bench was completely in tact. The mason jar full of mineral spirits was on the bench, and the paint brushes he used a couple of nights before were still hanging over the edge of his bench beside his stale, half full coffee cup.

While we were helping clean up their mess, a neighbor walked over and said "come over to our place. I want to show you something." His house was moderately damaged but livable. He led us into laundry room and said "Look in the dryer." I thought "What the hell!" But when I opened the dryer door the engine head of a Ryobi weed eater was in the dryer. The rest of it was sticking out through the back of the dryer and the cutting head was protruding through the siding outside of the house. We extracted the machine and it was in surprisingly good condition.

RonB

Reply to
RonB

I am really curious as to the effect of having hurricane ties and/or better fasteners would have had on those houses. I know, you get hit hard enough, almost nothing will standu up tothe force. But I saw houses that the second story was removed. Would a stonger tie-in to the first story have prevented that?

The houses with the siding gone made me wonder if that would have happened with screws? Maybe the wind would have just bent them all up.

I assume if big storms happen there that building codes would have been strengthened recently. Older houses would not have the improvements.

Do folks have storm shelters around thre?

Reply to
Lee Michaels

No storm shelters, but wish I had one now.

Reply to
GarageWoodworks

FYI the tornado has been confirmed an EF3 by the National Weather Service Center.

Watch this video and at -1:00 you can see my yellow hummer:

formatting link

Reply to
GarageWoodworks

From this one, quite likely I'd say judging from the level of damage (not terribly extensive, just serious).

The consequences have a lot to do w/ shape as well and I wondered on the one of the second floor it it wasn't somewhat unusual initially--perhaps not, but it made me wonder what it was initially.

Looked like vinyl -- it'll shred and tear w/ very little wind, comparatively, irrespective of the fastener.

In general, they have very benign weather there -- generally far enough inland to avoid worst of hurricanes and tornadoes are pretty uncommon.

--

Reply to
dpb

Glad you're ok and didn't lose anything.

Reply to
-MIKE-

GarageWoodworks wrote: ...

Interesting...

I have slow dialup so didn't look at anything near all the pictures in glory, admittedly. Maybe didn't see the worstest...

--

Reply to
dpb

Thanks Mike. I determined the path of the tornado and the closest it came to me was probably around a mile.

Scary shit. I'd post a picture of the path, but I don't want to broadcast where I live. :^)

Reply to
GarageWoodworks

No storm shelters, but wish I had one now. =============

Well there ya go, your next project.

I can see it now, an internal gazebo like structure made from Ipe with teak inlays. All the corners will be mitered half lap joints. Ya make it big enough, use enough of that heavy tropical wood, the wind wouldn't dare blow it away!

And you can make another video! ;-)

Reply to
Lee Michaels

Lol. Now you're talking! ;^)

Reply to
GarageWoodworks

One of the big things in high wind areas is the proper installation of "shear walls" for resistance to lateral forces, aka wind and earthquakes ... we even have a separate inspection for that here, and it gets all the way down to the nitty gritty of the nailing patterns on the overlapping sheathing between the first and second floor exterior walls.

Most definitely something to take into consideration when designing a structure, as every little bit or mitigation helps.

Reply to
Swingman

Hope you don't live near a trailer park!

Got family in Davidson Co. but it doesn't look like they were anywhere near the storm.

Reply to
Steve

It's not an elegant solution, but winner in the catagory of "easy, inexpensive, and effective" is a 30-36" drain tile set vertically into the ground with the "bell" end down. Pour a four-inch concrete floor with a pair of rebar handles (think: fancy fox-hole). If you have small fry, use a tile big enough to hold an adult holding a child. Make a wooden lid to keep rain and critters (and kids) out when not in use.

If you never need it, the cost is small - but if you do need it, discard the lid, jump in, grab a handle, and keep head(s) below ground level.

Reply to
Morris Dovey

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.