Natural Disasters have occured on Earth,since its creation.We all had classes when at school about earthquakes or volcanoes,effecting civilisations like Pompii,or millions of years before that,the meteorite which struck Yucatan,which was a species extinction disaster,and may someday happen again.
We've all seen the tv pictures of the Boxing Day Tsunami and Mount St.Helens.
In this country we're sort of blessed in the fact that we dont get natural disasters,the worst we can expect is around a dozen Atlantic Storms every winter,which usually cause damage but little loss of life.

Has anyone been caught in a natural disaster or have experiences they could share.

When I was a kindergartner (age 5), we experienced a huge blizzard that hit Chicago, January, 1967. I may be wrong, but I believe this snowfall still has the record in the area for greatest single-day snow.

When we walked to school, big fat flakes of snow were falling and already the ground had a good amount. The snow just kept coming but there was no wind if I recall correctly.

School let out early (us kindergartners only had a half-day anyway) but by this time the wind had picked up and the snow, icy and wet, was drifting. This was a lake-effect storm of a kind we were used to but the wind was abnormally fierce. What normally was a 10 or 15 minute walk if we dawdled (and we usually did), 3 block walk took over 2 hours. We could not tell where the road ended and the curbs began. Motorists had already abandoned several cars and they appeard to be giant lumps---you could'nt really tell if they were cars or not.
The wind blew straight from the north, unimpeded from Canada and the ice stinging in our eyes made it difficult to see. At one point my galosh fell off and I remember my hands were too frozen to put it back on. My big brother helped me. Most of us kids had to walk alone with no parents because it was a sudden decision to close the school and parents were caught unaware. It was a frigid and frightening, but somehow exhilarting, adventure.

We were snowed in for several days before snowplows reached our quiet and out of the way neighborhood. After they plowed, there were huge mountains of snow lining the streets. It was fun playing on them and we were happy because we had no school. Mom was frantic because she'd run out of cigarettes and had no way to go get them. Most of the roads were still impassible. My Dad was stranded in Indy and most of the stores were closed anyhoo.

Finally mom sent us off on an Arctic adventure to see if any stores were open. We finally reached a gas station that was, and bought the cigs. It was bitterly cold but with no wind it was bearable. The sun was out and sparkled the snow like a kings' ransom in diamonds. We had fun seeing how the houses had drifts up to their eaves and it was interesting being practically the only people out and about.

We've often teased mom in later years, how she sent her kids out when it was 20 below and in Himalayan mountain conditions, just to get her smokes.

We survived to tell the tale.:eek:

Here's a photo I found of the big Chicago blizzard of 1967, arial view:

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1712/chicagoblizzardyi3.jpg

Nice story Ren,Mum was right,toughen u guys up haha.
I sometimes wonder how we would cope in Ireland with this kind of weather,most years we get about 2-3 inches of snow,which lies for 4-5 days at most,but in that time,half the country grinds to a halt,I personally take the entire time off work,as driving becomes fucking nuts,the council do throw down salt on the roads,but not the side streets,and accidents are everywhere,hehe.
If we got that type of snow,we would all die.

The lowest temp Ive ever seen here was -18 for three weeks,I thought I was gonna die then also.

The lowest temp Ive ever seen here was -18 for three weeks,I thought I was gonna die then also.

That temp sounds pretty good to me now, Paul. lol, it's 90 freaking degrees here this PM--NINETY degrees --In October!
Wouldn't surprise me if we don't have another hurricane-, and a bad one too----and would like to hear if anyone here has ever been through (personally ) a hurricane, or tornado.

That temp sounds pretty good to me now, Paul. lol, it's 90 freaking degrees here this PM--NINETY degrees --In October!
Wouldn't surprise me if we don't have another hurricane-, and a bad one too----and would like to hear if anyone here has ever been through (personally ) a hurricane, or tornado.Yeah I seen the mid west heatwave on TV.
The Earth is going thru some strange weather,here it was about 66F and sunny today,more like summer temps.

I to would like to hear Hurricane Tornado stories.
Tho Ive always had a secret passion for volcanoes hehe.

You guys have all the fun. Blizzards, winter storms...
All we ever get are earthquakes.
It was fun to be standing in a pool of sulfuric acid after the train derailed and have chunks of concrete tossed at you from a building a half a block away during an aftershock.

It's about 90 degrees here... The heatwave isn't just in the Midwest.

whats it usually doing this time of year

I've lived in the tornado belt all my life. When I was little, a huge tornado came right thru the middle of Dallas. Fortunately, I was visiting my aunt in West Texas at the time and missed it. However, she lived in a little town called Levelland... because it is. And that Sunday, we had SIX tornados from the same storm system. People in West Texas are used to such storms and since the land is mostly unpopulated, they don't usually do much damage. I do remember standing outside the storm cellar with the adults for awhile and counting the tornados on the horizon... until they made all us kids go downstairs among the jars of canned veggies and sit on a hard bench while they stood outside with the door open. They had a great time, chatting away while keeping an eye on their surroundings lest they found it necessary to make a quit exit and slam the door. We were bored silly. Never hit their farm.

That was the worst tornado to hit Dallas. Many of the older diners still have framed pics of it adorning their walls. Here's hoping we never have another one.

Warm here, too. Normal avg temps - 82. Actual's been hovering around 92. I personally blame Al Gore.

;)
SMW

whats it usually doing this time of year
I think normal temp is around 70 right now... Maybe mid-70s.

I think normal temp is around 70 right now... Maybe mid-70s.Still pretty warm for the time of year.

I've lived in the tornado belt all my life. When I was little, a huge tornado came right thru the middle of Dallas. Fortunately, I was visiting my aunt in West Texas at the time and missed it. However, she lived in a little town called Levelland... because it is. And that Sunday, we had SIX tornados from the same storm system. People in West Texas are used to such storms and since the land is mostly unpopulated, they don't usually do much damage. I do remember standing outside the storm cellar with the adults for awhile and counting the tornados on the horizon... until they made all us kids go downstairs among the jars of canned veggies and sit on a hard bench while they stood outside with the door open. They had a great time, chatting away while keeping an eye on their surroundings lest they found it necessary to make a quit exit and slam the door. We were bored silly. Never hit their farm.

That was the worst tornado to hit Dallas. Many of the older diners still have framed pics of it adorning their walls. Here's hoping we never have another one.

Warm here, too. Normal avg temps - 82. Actual's been hovering around 92. I personally blame Al Gore.

;)
SMWId love to see a tornado,a big 5,from beside the shelter ofcourse.

Still pretty warm for the time of year.
Maybe warm for you... :p It generally stays warm through September and part of October here, but by Halloween it's generally too cold for skimpy costumes. :(

I put my skimpy skirts away in September-as a rule.

I've been near a few tornados - near as under the same storm system but the twister hit a little ways away from me, and that's been within the past few years.
I've been though one hail storm that dropped ice balls the size of billiard balls, broke every window in my home, destroyed the roofs of many neighbors, lots of damage locally. That was in Texas about 30 years ago.
While living in NY some years back we got slammed by this little gem (http://www.buffalonian.com/history/articles/1951-now/2001snowstorm/2001great_snow.html). Again, no significant damage to my stuff, but we moved shortly after the weather cleared.
I'd rather take my chances with a tornado or the odd hail storm than to be assured of a significant amount of snow in my lap nearly 6 months out of every year.

:hula:

When it comes to the worst 'natural disasters' recorded,the asteroid impact off Yucatan has to rank at #1.
The debris or fallout and subsequent firestorm from this event,known as the KT boundary,can be found in the four corners of the Earth.

Id love to see a tornado,a big 5,from beside the shelter ofcourse.

Tornado weather is pretty scary, even when tornados don't touch down. Like Es said, hail often comes first... the sky turns green and everything gets real still. You can feel the change of pressure in the air. Then hail starts pounding down and sometimes covers the ground like snow. So it's not like alot of people see a tornado coming. Really loud tornado sirens go off frequently during the spring here and I'm always like a cat on a hot tin room... torn between wanting to be outside and see what's going on -- or cowering in a hall closet I have all staked out. Hardly anybody has storm cellars in this part of the state. Just have to take your chances in a 'windowless interior room' and hope you don't get blown away.

So far, so good.

:eek:
SMW

Like paul, I'd love to see a tornado--from a good distance!

Storm chasing would be quite the thrill, as would going through a hurricane--on high ground. There's something so thrilling and elemental about these storms--yet the people who have to clean up the mess on top of losing everything they have , have my sympathy.

As kids, we saw the aftermath of the Palm Sunday tornado that hit a good portion of our state back in the mid-1960's--my god, it looked like Hiroshima.

I've been near a few tornados - near as under the same storm system but the twister hit a little ways away from me, and that's been within the past few years.
I've been though one hail storm that dropped ice balls the size of billiard balls, broke every window in my home, destroyed the roofs of many neighbors, lots of damage locally. That was in Texas about 30 years ago.
While living in NY some years back we got slammed by this little gem (http://www.buffalonian.com/history/articles/1951-now/2001snowstorm/2001great_snow.html). Again, no significant damage to my stuff, but we moved shortly after the weather cleared.
I'd rather take my chances with a tornado or the odd hail storm than to be assured of a significant amount of snow in my lap nearly 6 months out of every year.

:hula:

Yeah, Buffalo gets the snow up there.

I lived further north, right off the great lake and we got plenty of snow. I missed the blizzard of 1977, I was in OKLA experiancing golf sized hail for the first time.

I was in NY for the 91 ice storm and 97 one. I also was in 2 microbursts there and small tremors.
The microburst was most awesome. I ran out in to the middle of the land and watched during the first one. Infriggingcredible!
Blizzard of 1977
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Blizzard_of_1977

http://wintercenter.homestead.com/photo1977lesblizzard.html


Ice storm 1991
http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/rocice.htm



1997 ice storm

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1D81439F932A25752C0A96E9582 60&n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fTopics%2fIce
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_ice_storm_of_1998



I was one of the lucky ones that have portable kerosun's to heat with and propane to cook with in 97. We were without power for over a week. All the neighbors looked out for one another so we all fared well.

It looked like a new world to out and about in it afterword. Trees had fallen over under the weight of the ice, telephone poles too, wires everywhere.
The coldest I remember being out in was -40 below.

-40.What does that actually feel like?

-40.What does that actually feel like?Not much different than -30 or -20 -- it just gets to you faster.

And once your face is numb, it's numb.

So your telling me that minus 20 feels the same as minus 40,hmmmm.

I love that show US news channels do,throwing the cup of water up and powder comes down,thats brilliant.

I think your nerve endings can send only so much signal. Once cold becomes COLD that's the only message they can send to your brain.

Yeah, Sedan's right. In -40 below it goes right to the bone. You can't breathe in it, you have to cover your mouth and then whatever area you have covered turns to ice, the inside of your nose freezes, and you get little icelettes around your eyes.

Sounds very nasty.
How come your water supply dosent freeze?
How come you guys can continue with near normal daily life?
How can you drive on your roads?

Sounds very nasty.
How come your water supply dosent freeze?
How come you guys can continue with near normal daily life?
How can you drive on your roads?
It wasn't always -40 below, just occasionally, mostly due to the wind chill. Normally about -20 below, which make 32 above 0 feel like a heat wave.

It totally sucked that's why I moved away. I have arthritis and that cold weather made my bones hurt.
Well, one place I lived we had a pump house, a building by itself with the pump for the well for spring water. We had heat lamps inside it that kicked on at a certain temperature and kept the pump warm. The pipes running into the house where buried under the freeze line and insulated and also had a heater coil wrapped around it and plugged in to help prevent the water from freezing. Also would let the faucet drip at the furtherest point in the house.
When I lived in town there was no problem with the city water ever freezing, still let the faucet drip upstairs.

Most everything comes to a halt. Machines and human don't do well when it's that cold. You'd be lucky to start a vehicle unless it was inside a heated garage and even then they don't do good driving. I had an older car and let it run for 20 minutes before I tried to drive it. I made it about 10 miles before it quit.

Kudo's to our soldiers though. I lived near Ft. Drum and they were still out training in the cold. :thumbs:

Im aware that some US states spray salt on the main roads during the winter,as some is exported from here for the purpose.
Likewise this happens here also,tho once you turn off onto a side street,your on your own,luckily most cars are 'manuel',and if you take your time and think about what your doing,you can get around reasonably safely,its the know all D heads ya have to watch for,dont know shit,and cause all the accidents.

Where I live,water pipe are sure to freeze at some point,not just me,but the general area,thus heating is frozen also,to make matters worse,houses here are made of brick,and apart from the newly built ones,insulation isnt great.

In a big freeze,or a small freeze for that matter,public transport grinds to a halt,theres a famous one from the UK a few years ago,when all rail traffic was halted because of ''leaves on the rails''.

Nah,when it freezes over,I stay at home,loose my income,save my car,and dream on sunnier climes.

Id love to see a tornado,a big 5,from beside the shelter ofcourse.


I've always wanted to see one !!- I have lived with them for years - been a few miles away - across town - but I've never seen one. Across town we had an F-5 - a few years ago - it was very bad - my sister saw it. She had no damage to her house or her person nor did my brother -though he lost a couple of cars - they just blew away.

Im aware that some US states spray salt on the main roads during the winter,as some is exported from here for the purpose.
Likewise this happens here also,tho once you turn off onto a side street,your on your own,luckily most cars are 'manuel',and if you take your time and think about what your doing,you can get around reasonably safely,its the know all D heads ya have to watch for,dont know shit,and cause all the accidents.

Where I live,water pipe are sure to freeze at some point,not just me,but the general area,thus heating is frozen also,to make matters worse,houses here are made of brick,and apart from the newly built ones,insulation isnt great.

In a big freeze,or a small freeze for that matter,public transport grinds to a halt,theres a famous one from the UK a few years ago,when all rail traffic was halted because of ''leaves on the rails''.

Nah,when it freezes over,I stay at home,loose my income,save my car,and dream on sunnier climes.
Yes, in Ny they salted the roads and plowed them, the problem there was alot of the time the high snow banks were hard to see around. That and just when you have yourself shoveled out, they come along and fill in the end of your drive again.
You always get the ones that think they can drive in it first snow fall that end up in the ditch.

I've never lived in a brick house, but I thought it held heat better than wood ones?!?!

Here in TN, they cancel everything if it snows just a little. I was amazed at first but the roads here are steep and curvy with little to no shoulders in most of the areas. Thankfully winter don't last as long here and no where near as cold as NY.

What is the coldest it gets there, Paul?

and yeah, I'm with you, I stay in if it looks bad out, I don't take risks when it comes to me behind a wheel.

Oddly enough,I thought wood houses held in heat better than brick.It may come down to insulation.
Here to,the place grinds to a halt if we get even an inch or so of snow.The roads of TN sound similar to the roads here,tho most Irish roads have high banks or shucks down the side,and in a lot of cases,especially in the countryside,you wont see oncoming traffic until its nearly on top of you.
The main roads are pretty good tho.

Well it has reached -18,but Im glad to say,that was an exception.
Usually the worst to expect is around -10.December and January being the coldest months.November to February is wet and miserable.

Yeah stay in when the roads are icy. I went to work one day a few years ago,and black ice was lying everywhere,within an hour,someone had ploughed into the side of me,car was wrote off,so never again.

Here to,the place grinds to a halt if we get even an inch or so of snow.The roads of TN sound similar to the roads here,tho most Irish roads have high banks or shucks down the side,and in a lot of cases,especially in the countryside,you wont see oncoming traffic until its nearly on top of you.
The main roads are pretty good tho.

What are shunks, Paul? Like guard rails?
We have 60 ft drop offs here and some places don't have rails. In other places if you go off the road you go head first into a rock wall.

Here's a picture a friend sent me from the blizzard of '77 in NY I thought you might like to see.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/tormented/9ec1a8fe.jpg

Photos taken in NY state this past winter.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6554/rte11oswegoconync9.jpg (http://www.allforums.net/)

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6474/rte11oswegocon3yl2.jpg (http://www.allforums.net/)

Shuck=Ditch.

I think the spelling might be wrong.

Those are awesome pics, Little e. Thankfully we got out of there right before all that fell.

Ah, I see Paul.:thumbs: