Watching the severe threat develop over the weekend & seeing the tremendous damage afterwards reminded me of a video I saw years ago at a hurricane conference. Texas Tech University was using a “power gun” to fire a 2 x 4 into a brick wall showing that at high speeds (100+ mph) the beam would pierce the wall. I saw such a 2 x 4 stuck in a brick wall from one of the Georgia tornadoes this weekend. Is it any wonder a trailer stands zero chance when hit with such a force? I always feared for those who lived in trailers even if they had the proper tie downs. Can you imagine what would happen to trailers here during a major (Cat. 3-5) hurricane? Remember our part of the Gulf Coast hasn’t seen that since Camille. Betsy & Katrina were close but both were weakening at landfall. We really don’t know what will happen when the “big one” comes. Katrina had the “big one” surge but not the winds. Our improved levees & walls should protect us from most storm surges, but what about the wind? We really don’t know except it’s far better to flee the danger than to challenge it.
This January has been way too warm and there are still signs that finally some below normal weather is coming. Frankly I don’t mind lows in the 30s & 40s with highs in the 50s, especially if we’re sunny. Such a stretch of weather is coming for this weekend. California continues to see more rain with many cities reporting their 3rd wettest January…with 8 days to go. Their 5 year drought has been crushed with 2 months remaining in their rainy season. The snow season out west has been phenomenal from California to Colorado, from Arizona to Montana. Such snow depths should be a great help during the summer fire season. What’s going on? Global Warming of course! Stay tuned!
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