They were talking 70 mph to even 100 mph winds yesterday when a storm rolled in to Cedar Rapids last night. My anemometer measured 30.6 mph for a high with the max gust at 56.1 mph. I have no idea what the difference is between max wind speed and max gust. At any rate the winds, while scary because of what we went through a few years ago, weren't anywhere near that level. I thought maybe my anemometer had blown down, but it was upright this morning. Did anyone experience those high winds they were warning us about?
I have three dozen less trees to worry about in a windstorm this time around, so that eliminates some stress. Most of the time the wind was less than 20 mph although it seemed worse. I didn't head to the basement like I did a few years ago when you could hear trees cracking all around. That direcho was terrifying and even worse when you saw the aftermath. I got lucky that I had minimal damage to my house. One tree swiping a corner and bending a gutter, and another hitting the house where some decorative stone took the blow without harm, except to some landscaping plants.
After what we went through, these high winds fill us with fear. I suppose if you have been through a tornado, those storms probably have the same effect, although there is a little difference. Tornados are random and limited to where they strike. A direcho is not selective. It takes no prisoners for miles in its path, both in width and as it makes its way across the states. The fear isn't so much for your safety as it is for the property damage it can inflict.
Anyway. False alarm as far as I'm concerned. I do have a few branches and sticks to clean up, but nothing out of the ordinary. The guys that took care of my trees during the big direcho left behind a log that was wedged between two branches of a long tree. I called them back to take care of it, but by then that Texas-based crew was on to the next weather disaster many states away. I tried to chainsaw the log out of there without any luck. It was high and tiring work for a chainsaw that needed sharpened. Any progress seemed negated by the pressure of the branch just squeezing it tighter as I worked on it. So I quit until I got my chain sharpened. Never did. The log has been stuck there ever since. Until last night. Those high winds gave that log it's freedom, which I greatly appreciate. I still need to get that saw sharpened, but with so many trees lost, it doesn't get much use anyway.
Now for the good news. It has been bone dry at my place. Most rain events have missed me. My lawn has gone dormant and is crunchy to walk on. I've only mowed my lawn 7 times. Yesterday we got 1.15 inches dumped on us. It came down too hard and too fast, but it was nice to finally get something. It dumped in all in an hour with most of it in the first 30 minutes. Some parts of the yard have greened up, but half or more is still dormant. We could use a few days of cloudy skies and more rain to get that to snap out of it.
I have three dozen less trees to worry about in a windstorm this time around, so that eliminates some stress. Most of the time the wind was less than 20 mph although it seemed worse. I didn't head to the basement like I did a few years ago when you could hear trees cracking all around. That direcho was terrifying and even worse when you saw the aftermath. I got lucky that I had minimal damage to my house. One tree swiping a corner and bending a gutter, and another hitting the house where some decorative stone took the blow without harm, except to some landscaping plants.
After what we went through, these high winds fill us with fear. I suppose if you have been through a tornado, those storms probably have the same effect, although there is a little difference. Tornados are random and limited to where they strike. A direcho is not selective. It takes no prisoners for miles in its path, both in width and as it makes its way across the states. The fear isn't so much for your safety as it is for the property damage it can inflict.
Anyway. False alarm as far as I'm concerned. I do have a few branches and sticks to clean up, but nothing out of the ordinary. The guys that took care of my trees during the big direcho left behind a log that was wedged between two branches of a long tree. I called them back to take care of it, but by then that Texas-based crew was on to the next weather disaster many states away. I tried to chainsaw the log out of there without any luck. It was high and tiring work for a chainsaw that needed sharpened. Any progress seemed negated by the pressure of the branch just squeezing it tighter as I worked on it. So I quit until I got my chain sharpened. Never did. The log has been stuck there ever since. Until last night. Those high winds gave that log it's freedom, which I greatly appreciate. I still need to get that saw sharpened, but with so many trees lost, it doesn't get much use anyway.
Now for the good news. It has been bone dry at my place. Most rain events have missed me. My lawn has gone dormant and is crunchy to walk on. I've only mowed my lawn 7 times. Yesterday we got 1.15 inches dumped on us. It came down too hard and too fast, but it was nice to finally get something. It dumped in all in an hour with most of it in the first 30 minutes. Some parts of the yard have greened up, but half or more is still dormant. We could use a few days of cloudy skies and more rain to get that to snap out of it.
