Squall Line Knocks Out Kentucky
So yeah. Middle of winter severe storm system. Crazy!
We all braced for the worst after hearing reports of power outages and damage to towns west of Bowling Green. And after seeing our beautiful
Kentucky Mesonet wind data, reporting 60mph wind gusts! It will definitely make staring at data more interesting tomorrow. :-)
I was chatting online with a couple friends as the storm approached. I warned that if I disappeared, it was because the power died. Soon after that, everything goes black. And then I hear the wind. So, naturally, I go to my front door and open it. Luckily, I face south so it was more of a crosswind than anything. I closed my door and took a few steps and hear *CRASH* *BOOM* *CRASH* followed by more wind noise. Not sure of what to expect, I ran to a corner. haha. Once the wind died down, I went back outside to observe. Part of the ceiling over the stairway fell down.
There were things blowing everywhere and unfortunately, tomorrow is trash day, so there are trash bags EVERYWHERE. And finally, the big, loud, obnoxious diesel truck served a purpose in its life by protecting my car from debris. :-) However, there was some strange, random goo on my car and I have no idea what it is (and I'm not sure I want to know either.)
Our FARM Mesonet site had stopped reporting and I wanted to go check it out. I drove out there only to prove that it was very windy out there. No noticeable damage.
There were limbs down all over the roads, but nothing at the site. I drove west of town as well. There was a random car bumper on the side of the road and I think I ran over some other part of the car. No idea what it was though. More trash cans blown over. More limbs in the road. Nothing too spectacular. However, on my way back toward town, I kept seeing large and bright power flashes. There were also a lot of large limbs down but it's nearly impossible to take pictures in the dark while driving, so no pictures of those.
AMS New Orleans
I finally have time to write about AMS. Things have been way too busy since I got back.
I was on a panel for the student conference over the weekend. Everything was pretty successful and it was really, really great to see everyone from Oklahoma. The town itself didn't impress me much, but the company was good.
Until Monday, I hadn't taken a single picture during my trip (except for trying to get a picture of airplane glory while flying). I spent Monday walking around and taking pictures and getting the souvenirs I wanted. Couldn't find a thermometer, but I found a nice looking mask. I ended up going to the Audubon aquarium that afternoon. It's nearly an exact duplicate of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, but it was still fun to visit. Pictures can be seen below and
here.
Storms
It's January 8th and we're having a severe storm outbreak, not to mention the one yesterday. How nuts is that? It must be GLOBAL WARMING, since that's the
only reason for crazy weather.. Whatever shall we do!
