This Week's Meaningless Topic (#46) (July 24)

[Rodger Pettichord]

Hi all. As I write, we here in eastern Washington State are coming off a period of record-setting heat and entering a time of fires all around, with hazardous smoke dimming the sun and turning the moon deep orange. Got me to thinking of other weather I've seen--Pacific cyclone, midwest-USA tornado, and so forth. We Forum readers live in many weather-heavy places, which leads to this week's topic.

 

THIS WEEK'S MEANINGLESS TOPIC: What is the most extreme weather you've seen?

[Sniper31]

Oh wow, huge question for me....I grew up in SoCal and saw many many forest fires (I have US Forest Service Fire Fighter friends and my mother also worked for the USFS back when I was growing up). I also have experienced forest fires here in Colorado, especially last year. Then of course, having spent much time in the Middle East, I have experienced many, many days of 120 degree plus weather not to mention several shamal's (those are something to behold and are definitely NOT fun). 

 

Will be interesting to see what others have experienced around the globe.

[carlosqr]

Being Central American I would say the most horrible thing I've seen was Mitch

 

[adambar]

Hurricane with 40-50ft waves in the Caribbean while in the Navy and a big storm of some kind with 40-50ft waves off the coast of Spain that lasted three days. Our ship was doing 47 degree rolls in both.   Another big one off the coast of Cape Hatteras N.Carolina. 

[Rob Abernathy]

I'd have to say the Carr Fire here near Redding, CA  (KRDD) in  2018.   Many friends lost homes and we had to evacuate for a time as well.

Watched a hurricane come ashore in Corpus Christi in 1969 at NAS Corpus Christi TX.  That was interesting!

[gregmorin]

In the NorthEast hurricanes and tornados. Maine specifically blizzards dumping 3 feet of snow and -20*F for weeks at a time.

 

Greg

[gumbypickett]

Well I can recall when up in the 

Central Highlands here in Tas some years ago mid Summer 30+ deg c,

a cold front came through bringing a dusting of snow.

Shorts one minute, Jackets the next.

cheers

Gumby

[Ken Q]

I would say Hurricanes Gloria and Irene.  Also Sandy was bad, and left us without electricity or telephone for 18 days.  Even cell phone service was spotty.  Sandy came in late October, and it got cold, and we were without heat.  Huddled next to the fireplace for more than two weeks.  The next summer I had a fireplace insert installed!

 

Then there is snow.  We almost always get some, and occasionally a snow storm that is notable.  The one that started on Christmas, 2010 was a wopper, especially how the snow drifted in places.  When we went to dig my mother out we found the snow had drifted in the driveway to the second story window sills, close to twenty feet.

 

Incidentally, the fires out West are affecting us here, nearly 3000 miles away.  Tuesday last was especially bad.  We could smell the smoke, the sky changed color, and the haze cut visibility. Eyes itched, and breathing became difficult.

 

Ken

Huntington, Long Island, NY (KFRG)

 

[W2DR]

Hurricane Charley in 2004. I was in Orlando, FL, and was really wishing I were somewhere else. Sustained winds at 85 mph (137 kph) with gusts up to 105 mph (169 kph). When the peak intensity of that storm moved through it was the longest two hours of my life. I never, ever, want to go through anything like that again. 

[Ken Q]

1 hour ago, gumbypickett said:

Well I can recall when up in the 

Central Highlands here in Tas some years ago mid Summer 30+ deg c,

a cold front came through bringing a dusting of snow.

Shorts one minute, Jackets the next.

cheers

Gumby

We (wife & I) refer to this sort of thing as "Corning Ware weather," "out of the oven, and into the freezer," or vice versa, after the old Corning Ware ad.  Though perhaps not quite as extreme, we get that kind of weather here, especially during the winter.  Really tears the roads up; many huge pot holes.

Ken

[gumbypickett]

14 minutes ago, Ken Q said:

We (wife & I) refer to this sort of thing as "Corning Ware weather," "out of the oven, and into the freezer," or vice versa, after the old Corning Ware ad.  Though perhaps not quite as extreme, we get that kind of weather here, especially during the winter.  Really tears the roads up; many huge pot holes.

Ken

 

14 minutes ago, Ken Q said:

We (wife & I) refer to this sort of thing as "Corning Ware weather," "out of the oven, and into the freezer," or vice versa, after the old Corning Ware ad.  Though perhaps not quite as extreme, we get that kind of weather here, especially during the winter.  Really tears the roads up; many huge pot holes.

Ken

I've got to say Ken, after reading all of the above, 

we have it pretty easy down here, although we can get 

4 seasons in 1 day.

cheers

Gumby

[Ken Q]

Of course not all snow storms are bad, especially if you're young and in love!  Remember the old 1945 classic "the weather outside is frightful"?  That was incredibly risque at the time, A pair of (unmarried) lovers snowed in together.  Well, for my wife (at that time, fiancee) that was the winter of 1977-78.  Long Island had an unusual series of snow storms, punctuated by an occasional rain storm, and plenty of freezing rain and ice.  Now at the time Karen shared an apartment in Huntington, while I had a little apartment in Lake Ronkonkoma (about 15 miles east, don't try to pronounce it unless you know Algonquin). 

While we maintained two domiciles, we were almost always together at one or the other ( usually mine because a) I didn't have a roommate and b) it was much closer to the University where we both were pursuing our PhDs).  There were two major storms which closed the region (including the university) for a week each.  We got snowed in in my place for the first, her place for the second.  Her mother commented "very convenient."

Ken

[BradB]

Several tornadoes thru the years in the Midwest along with many of Winter storms along the front 

range of the Rockies . 

[gumbypickett]

4 hours ago, Ken Q said:

Of course not all snow storms are bad, especially if you're young and in love!  Remember the old 1945 classic "the weather outside is frightful"?  That was incredibly risque at the time, A pair of (unmarried) lovers snowed in together.  Well, for my wife (at that time, fiancee) that was the winter of 1977-78.  Long Island had an unusual series of snow storms, punctuated by an occasional rain storm, and plenty of freezing rain and ice.  Now at the time Karen shared an apartment in Huntington, while I had a little apartment in Lake Ronkonkoma (about 15 miles east, don't try to pronounce it unless you know Algonquin). 

While we maintained two domiciles, we were almost always together at one or the other ( usually mine because a) I didn't have a roommate and b) it was much closer to the University where we both were pursuing our PhDs).  There were two major storms which closed the region (including the university) for a week each.  We got snowed in in my place for the first, her place for the second.  Her mother commented "very convenient."

Ken

I bet you worked at the weather station, how romantic.

cheers

Gumby

[John York]

From the sound of it, I'm very glad we live in the South of England, apart from a fair share of wind and rain we don't get any dramatic weather conditions.  Oops, sorry, we did get a few flakes of snow a couple of years ago! 

[lifejogger]

 

This is what we get here in the Texas Panhandle.