I was outside talking to my neighbor just before the storm with the
tornado hit. I saw it coming, warned him and then ran for the open door
of my garage on the other side of the house. As soon as I got into the
house there was a tremendous clatter as quarter-size hemishperical hail
started raining on the roof and gutters. At that moment I realized I'd
forgotten to close the garage door. When I ran out of the door from the
house into the garage I nearly slipped and fell over since there was
about a 2" thick layer of quarter size hail on the floor half way into
the open garage. I doubt that more than a minute or two had elapsed
since I had started running to get into the house. I can't imagine what
it would have been like to get hit with that much ice.
Then, probably as the tornado passed, the screen enclosure over the pool
suddenly filled with dense fog and it was not possible to see outside
the house. I didn't discover the downed tree for several hours as it
was about 75 yards away and mostly hidden from view.
Chuck Norcutt
On 7/15/2014 5:53 PM, Chris Trask wrote:
Interesting that the trees seem to have simply been pulled out of the
ground. My experience also as a small tornado passed a short distance
behind my house in Florida about 20 years ago. A large ficus was just
pulled out of the ground and laid on its side with its roots flailing in
the air. Had the soil been softened by recent rain?
Others who have experienced microbursts tell me that the interior is full
of small twisters. I have my own experience with one, and all I can remember
is the sensation that the entire sky was coming straight down. Videos shown
after this storm show that they are pretty much the result of a mature storm
suddenly dropping its core downwards due to lack of sufficient upward draught.
I also have a first-hand experience with straight-line winds. You have no
idea what it's like to have 1/2" hail hitting you in the back in an 80 MPH
wind. It's like being hit with rock salt from a 12ga (no first-hand expeerience
with that).
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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