That cannot happen again: Severe storms

So I mentioned that I was traumatized last year by a thunderstorm that just sat over my home for about 4 hours in the middle of the night. Well, it happened again. To be fair the forecasts were really wrong so there was no way I could LOA it..

For some unknown reason the storm moved east to west... err that isn't how things are supposed to do go? The maps had it going west to east. It eventually did that but not on the timeline they said.

I think the problem is that when it comes in from the ocean (west to east) it sort of a circle pattern it hits the jet stream and gets stuck until the jet stream can move it.

It started -- strong around 4:00 pm yesterday and did not let up at all until about 6:20 pm. Every time I would think, oh well how much more can there possibly be, something else would happen. We got hail... I have to tell you.. I lived in Michgan for a few years and even when a twister was around hail was not frequent. But this was 2 rounds of hail. I am amazed there was no apparent damage. I was lucky not to get flooding but in the middle of the storm we got an emergency alert saying not to travel as there was wide spread flooding. Some hospitals had to be evacuated due to the flooding. Of course a strong storm has been stuck over us for 2 hours. At the end we had some lighting and thunder that shook the house enough to literally be like an earthquake.

And just at the end... when it seemed we were all clear, I lost power. Again, have to say, even in Michigan, I didn't lose power. I suspect something happened far from us that took our power out because nothing was happening here at the time. I got it back about 6 hours later. I was grateful we lost it when the storm was over. This thing was so strong though all during the night you could see lightning flashes .. though thankfully no thunder.

My cat is terrified of storms but I think he just reached a point were he just had to close himself off for sanity reasons and he went under my bed and didn't come out. That was a god send. When the hail started I was on the look out for a twister and had my belongings ready to run to the basement.

I feel like I made a big mistake moving to this town. I feel like my town is under where the jet stream hits other air and it seems like where I am always gets the jackpot for snow as well. Where I used to live was just more protected by being slightly north of this "battle zone". I really am considering moving now. Yes it would be an difficult adjustment for my cat but this storm and snow situation isn't exactly great either.

That sounds really scary! Maybe moving to a better place shielded from severe weather is a good idea. I’ve been thinking about that myself, too.

Might be a good idea, Emily. Weather can be unpredictable, but some places have better weather than others. Your cat can adjust as long as you are there.

Emily, I have some understanding of your fear. Last year a nasty storm rolled into and sat right over the campground I was in. It didn't pass for hours and all night I heard the sounds of creaking, cracking, and the ripping of metal interspersed with the thunderous cracks of overhead lightning. I tent. I woke up with the rest of the campground to discover a mess of fallen trees and debris including pieces of campers and trailers. Several were over turned and one had taken a fallen tree during the storm. It turned out it was the wind that was the cause of it all. So now it is not the thunder and lightning I fear but the wind - especially if I am camping. I fear falling objects like trees and feel so vulnerable. Even warm and cozy in my house I don't feel protected. Whenever a weather alert for a wind warning is put in place I shudder.

These things seem to happen with regularity now in the last several years - climate change? Probably. I too have had flashes of thoughts of moving. In my case it isn't a possibility.

Do what your heart feels right. Yes there are those who may not approve but you don't need their permission.

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Originally Posted by WishfulThinker66 These things seem to happen with regularity now in the last several years - climate change? Probably. I too have had flashes of thoughts of moving. In my case it isn't a possibility..

Possibly but it seems like it could just as easily be moving south from where I was, to a place where the weather is worse.

I moved here in 2014, in 2015 we got hammered my first winter. We ended up getting 90 inches of snow (in three storms) and the snow would not melt. It was so serious my walls were cracking under the weight.

Whenever we get a blizzard it is always my neck of the woods that gets the jackpot.

Whenever we have an "ice storm" (I am on the line from snow to rain) so we often get ice.. it is always bad enough to cause power outages.

Thought I don't remember the first years having bad summer storms, these last two have been outrageous. Both had a storm that went like this.. like a slow hurricane that kept pulling in tropical air from the wrong end spinning inward from the coast. This would cause the air to hit the jet stream and get stuck and also, have massive storms.

Where I live for as along as I can remember, storms moved from west to east and typically when they hit the cold air of the ocean, they fell apart. But that doesn't seem to be happening anymore. This is the second year where the pattern got set up of tropical air coming up from the south and then like doing a reverse hurricane where the warm air stops and does like a hurricane circle and is pulled from the east to the west, hitting the jet stream.

I am exhausted of it. Especially when most of your wealth is tied up in your home.

It seems like just a matter of time until we lose power here when there is a very cold night and suffer due to that.

Yeah, super cary, Emily, I hear you. I have lived in West Texas and Nashville and Atlanta, where these things are common during this half of the year. Was in one tornado in Nashville, but it did not go right over us, fortunately. But it killed people.

Still, by far the most terrified I have ever been in a thunderstorm was on the tiny island of St. Bart's. I really thought we were going to die right there.

I did manage to find a radar that list lighting strikes. So during the storm you can see how close the strike really was to you. That is helpful.. Not only to see where the storm is moving but it also helps me see even the loudest strikes are not close. But just a few years ago my neighbor's home got struck. Everyone was ok but they didn't move back into their house for a year. I couldn't handle that.

I remember being really traumatized in Michigan. You would not think it would be a big storm area but every single Wednesday for the entire summer we got massive thunderstorms. I remember once they posted a tornado warning for 10 pm to 5 am. I was like, how am I going to sleep? I lived on the 3rd floor of an apartment. This is why the midwest is mostly not a place I would live.

We just got through flash flooding where I live. The storms have been strange this summer but I am constantly monitoring 2 weather apps because I leave my horse outside at the barn on the neighboring farm & put her in the barn during bad storms.

Even with weather apps I have blown it at least 5 times just this summer. One storm snuck up on us. I have been outside in the pouring rain with lightning flashing right overhead while walking my horse into the barn. Saturday night I actually saw the lightning hit the ground probably 500 feet away from me & my horse as we tried hard to just calmly lead her into the barn.

One storm hit just after I got home from the barn. I was still sitting in my truck & the wind & rain hit. Heard a huge cracking sound. A huge tree several farms away blew down. But the next day I found a huge branch that had split off one of my fence line trees about 50ft behind my truck. Luckily it landed in a non-problem place but will need a professional to take it down. Having my horse & having to actually be outside in the storms sure gives it a much different perspective than being safe in my house. The barn is on top of a hill & I can see the storms completely around the area. Most go around us but the ones that don't can be bad but you never know till they hit how bad they will be around here. I really love my weather app that shows where the lightning is though I usually see the trees it hits on the farms around here

Wow, parts of America have such mad weather. Very mild in my part of my country. Scarcely even a thunderstorm. No snow.

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That is another problem.. what is with the inaccuracy of the radar lately? This week several times there was lighting and rain when the radar said there wasn't. A lady got struck this week at home but I don't blame her.. I almost did. There was no sign on the forecast of a problem and then a big lighting bolt went off.

Not to mention that the first really bad storm we had... the "future cast" had the storm going west to east but -- instead it actually moved east to west.. so no one was ready for it. It also was a very severe storm but it only was shown on the radar as red (instead of pink) which other websites showed -- but the weather channel didn't.

Mote where do you live, I am moving there?

@Emily Fox Seaton

Haha, yeah come. I live in Auckland, New Zealand. Good little city, Emily. 👍

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Originally Posted by Emily Fox Seaton That is another problem.. what is with the inaccuracy of the radar lately? This week several times there was lighting and rain when the radar said there wasn't. A lady got struck this week at home but I don't blame her.. I almost did. There was no sign on the forecast of a problem and then a big lighting bolt went off. Not to mention that the first really bad storm we had... the "future cast" had the storm going west to east but -- instead it actually moved east to west.. so no one was ready for it. It also was a very severe storm but it only was shown on the radar as red (instead of pink) which other websites showed -- but the weather channel didn't. Mote where do you live, I am moving there?

I even physically watch the storms from on top of the hill where the barn is. Many storm cells go west & some go east from the same vision points. The 2 apps I use are "Weather bug" for the lightning strikes to monitor the direction they are heading & "weather.com" for storm progress. I seriously (in our case here) think the winds change direction so suddenly that the serious storms that hit by surprise can't be predicted especially when the storms can hit hard only a few miles away & we get nothing. Every time I react early & get my horse in the barn, we get no rain.....but when I wait to see, we both get drenched. I think it proves that even science can't accurately predict the weather at any specific location that accurately because nature has a mind of her own

I feel sorry that severe weather you unfortunately experienced was so traumatic for you. Really wish I knew what to tell you because every part of the US experiences some form of severe weather. Its like pick your poison. Personally I suspect the worsening ot the weather, more severe it is is because of climate change. Sorry I can't be more helpful. for you.

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Originally Posted by mote.of.soul @Emily Fox SeatonHaha, yeah come. I live in Auckland, New Zealand. Good little city, Emily. 👍

LOL well you are almost directly across the world from me. Also you guys have earthquakes right?

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I think it proves that even science can't accurately predict the weather at any specific location that accurately because nature has a mind of her own

I just feel like when I was in Michigan about 10 years ago they were much more accurate. Perhaps they have better weather equipment because they get twisters there. Last night we got hit again... not as bad but I had to laugh.. there wasn't a single other thunderstorm in the entire state but a severe one poped up over my area... and this time it was going north to south!

It seems like the stormy system is finally moving out.

Sounds like it happens all the time, probably move on different place is the right solution here...

@Emily Fox Seaton

Hi Emily,

Actually, you know what? On reflection, in Auckland, we do get the occasional storm that might down some trees and power lines, and damage the roofs of houses etc., yes, we had one of those here last year. Even the occasional tornado, but these are rare, years apart, and nothing approaching the ferocity or frequency of what you have in parts of the US. And we definitely don't have a "hurricane season" (!!) like in the southern part of the US. What about earthquakes? Again, in Auckland, very rare and scarcely detectable, I've never felt one (I best only speak for Auckland where I've lived the majority of my life) but further south, yes, tremors are quite regular and occasionally a big earthquake will strike like the one that hit poor old Christchurch (South Island of NZ) in 2011. The average Aucklander will only worry about rain really, as the weather in that respect can be quite changeable. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. And this year, so far, I can only recall one little thunderstorm and it was gone after about 15 minutes.

Just wanted to say also, I'm real sorry you feel unsafe and quite traumatized by the storms you have, Emily. Totally understandable.

As I say, in terms of the weather, Auckland is somewhere I'd definitely recommend as a place to live. But, you're right, it's on the other side of the globe.

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Originally Posted by mote.of.soul Actually, you know what? On reflection, in Auckland, we do get the occasional storm that might down some trees and power lines, and damage the roofs of houses etc., yes, we had one of those here last year. Even the occasional tornado, but these are rare, years apart, and nothing approaching the ferocity or frequency of what you have in parts of the US. :

Dude!

No not coming there. Where I live we almost never have tornados.

I used to have a friend that lived in New Zealand so I am more familiar with it than most American's but she never did mention storms. We were always more worried about the earthquakes -- which I don't have where I live either.

California. Sunny. 🌞

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Originally Posted by mote.of.soul California. Sunny. 🌞

California.....some major earthquakes. I lived there for 54 years. More earthquakes than I have experienced tornadoes in Ky. Only one tornado ever hit Topeka Kansas....many earthquakes have hit & damaged the valley I grew up in. Pick your poison

OMG turns out I was right.. weather forecasts are wrong due to covid

Reduction in commercial flights due to COVID-19 leading to less accurate weather forecasts -- ScienceDaily