Welcome back to another hopefully sunny week everyone. While our weekend was in essence a pleasant one we did see some awful weather. Friday much of the state fell under a tornado warning, or at least a severe thunderstorm warning. While a tornado did not touch down the town of Glastonbury did see a weather phenomenon that weather experts have been called in to assess. The town experiences what is called a microburst.
Now, what is the difference between a tornado and a microburst? This difference is easier to explain in writing than it is viewing the damages firsthand. Essentially a microburst is a downward movement of air that moves in a straight line with wind speeds equal to that of a tornado. The winds Glastonbury witnessed on Friday ranged between 88-110 mph. A tornado is a rotating movement of air that creates a vacuum sucking at the center. Both do large amounts of damage but it is in the opinion of this writer that microbursts can be even more dangerous.
There are no warnings for microbursts. They happen without warning in storm systems and while tornadoes may be a plausible threat in that time it is not always the case. This is one real that when a weather report says for you to get to an interior room or basement in a severe thunderstorm, one should listen.
Lets give a little story example, shall we?
Cindy just got home from a long day at the office. On her way home she noticed thunderclouds moving in over the horizon. She noted them and made a remark to herself about ruining her plans to hop into the pool. Once home she turns on the television and sees that a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued. Nothing new; after all these warning come up almost weekly in the summer. The storm comes, and they were right it is truly a nasty storm. Water falls in heavy waves making the world around Cindy sound like a waterfall, the weatherman on the television asks for people to stay away from windows and towards an interior room.
Cindy takes a moment to hesitate, but listens even though she doesn’t think anything would happen. Five minutes later trees are falling, and the front windows of Cindy’s home are broken. Power lines fall, and the weatherman’s voice comes to a screeching vault as the sound of roaring wind rips through her home.
Just a few moments later it stops, and the damage is done. Cindy was thankful she had gone to her bathroom to hide out for a few minutes. It could have very well saved her life.
Judgment is a powerful thing, and the most important thing to remember about storms is that they are not all the same. Each storm is different and poses different threats as we saw Friday afternoon. Flooding, wind damage, microbursts, tornadoes, water damage, even fire from lightning— there are logical and just reasons that we get nervous in severe weather. If you feel nervous, seek shelter. It doesn’t matter if nothing happens what matters is your own safety.
Later today we will be discussing wind damages, and how we can help you recover from these kinds of damages.
"The difference is experience"
