Tuesday, June 24, 2014

scary storm

Got slammed at about 2:30am with a big light show, gusty winds, but just a little rain.  The lightning woke me up just before the winds hit.  Maximum gust was 65 mph.  I REALLY DON'T LIKE THIS KIND OF STORM.  Fired up the computer to check the doppler radar and was happy to see that the full brunt of the storm was right on top of me and passing quickly.  If was all over in about a half hour but took forever to get back to sleep.  84,92,72, .17",G

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice :) Good blog but the storm is scary as hell merchants, Suppliers and Traders oF Steel Grade Coal in India

Rita B. said...

might be what we've got coming thru houston this morning. take care. get it all secured as well as you can.

S. Cooper said...

So glad you made it thru unscathed. ~Sherri

WhyR said...

Think CABLES. If you are inclined to worry, I would worry about the roof of your greenhouse, which looks not unlike the top surface of an airplane wing. The right amount of wind from the right direction (due North or South) might cause it to develop a lot of lift suddenly. In fact, you might want to check it carefully today to see if it has moved. Three or four cables (poly coated- keeps them from fraying or corroding) strung over the top between concrete anchors should help reduce the pucker factor during these trying times. 2x6's on the roof placed perpendicularly to the cables would spread the downforce without reducing rain catchment. In addition, the 2x6's should help prevent laminar flow, which wings need to develop lift (a layer of frost on the top of a wing or even heavy bug deposits on the leading edge can reduce lift enough to cause a plane to crash on takeoff).

Same with your house, although it looks more vulnerable to a wind from the North. Might just need strong connectors between those support posts in the front and the roof, something like hurricane clips; maybe just add big nailing plates.

Bud and Ben's casita looks so heavily overbuilt in might take a tank to budge it.

Anonymous said...

Your picture looks to be of a ressurection fern. Is that correct? :)
I also hate those storms, the ones in the middle of the night.

nature ramblings said...

Those storms are really beautiful but not when you are right in the middle of them!! Glad you made it out the other end in one piece!

Margery Billd said...

Texans are tough strong people. Stuff happens. People help each other. Then texans get on with life, don't talk about it, and focus on the next thing with positivness and optimism.

Margery Billd said...

You know people in north Texas in the panhandle have underground bunker dugouts to protect from tornados and the elements. I always thought that would be a good luxury.

Russ Smith said...

I wonder how the mcguyver porta potty held up?

WhyR said...

My guess is that John's concern was not so much for himself as it was for the extensive and complicated construction that took him years to complete. You don't want to see that damaged.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I miss your stream on USTREAM.

Margery Billd said...

A few years ago in central Texas at night it was lightning with booming thunder, wind and heavy blowing rain. My pointer was barking frantically while a half crouched deer staggered toward him. The next day my tv went out, my driveway washed out, and my phone did not work. After a few days things started working. There were pictures of houses and camper cars floating down the river and of the broken dam and of clothes in the top of very high trees where people had to swim to hill tops to live. The red cross truck came swaying down the road to offer me a hot meal. The deer drowned and I pulled him down the road. Later I learned my friends were moving because all they had left was cement slab where the house was and some lost a family member.

Margery Billd said...

The evening before the flood I was by the Kennedy Marina and I noticed the boats and campground were flooding. I called the sheriff dept. and the young girl twittered, "oh we never have a problem here." By 3a.m.the million dollar lake front homes were being evacuated. These floods have happened in the hill country for years but very few if any people lived here before.

Under The SC Sun said...

Somehow I am not surprised to see the topic of aerodynamics (laminar flow, turbulence, fluid dynamics) brought up on your blog John. What a diverse audience you have...

Cheers!

ArchGrafiX said...

I followed your great blog for a couple of years, then lost it somehow (changed email/server/computer, I dunno). I couldn't even remember what it was called. Well, I Googled and finally found you and your blog again. I always found it compelling and now I'm trying to catch up. I am very interested in sustainable living. Thanks for what you do to inform and promote.