Monday, June 2, 2008

Pyrmont tornado video may be a sign of things to come!




This video was courtesy of Storm Chaser Doyle Mc Intosh. On the very last frame you can see the tornado touch down to the left of the trees and another one likely that touched down on the far right of the screen. The video does not do the storm justice as Doyle told me, but at least you can make out the funnels. It can be pretty tough keeping a steady camera when tornadoes are striking, so my hats off to Doyle once again. The best part is that this tornado hit in an open field. I went driving out to Pyrmont on Saturday morning and I did not find much damage at all. Here are some pictures I took in and around the Pyrmont, Radnor, and Ockley area from the day after.





Now here is where the story gets interesting. Since I could not find much in Carroll County, I looped back toward Battle Ground in northern Tippecanoe County where I received most of the storm damage reports. My main goal was to see if in fact there was another tornado that hit Battle Ground. Here is how Battle Ground looked as I came in on Main Street. The warm welcome sign and sunshine quickly turned into a bad memory of when I drove through Dayton after the tornadoes hit in 2004 and 2005. Debris lined both sides of Main Street. I had a case of deja-vu.





I then stopped at the Williams House to check on some great folks. They told me our Live Doppler 18 gave them enough warning to get inside. Apparently the storm hit at 7:10 p.m. or 5 minutes after we told everybody to take cover in Battle Ground. It is good to know our storm tracks really do work and can help keep people safe.


It is a good thing Live Doppler 18 and Precision were on the mark because you can see the huge tree that fell between the Williams house and the neighbors. There was very little margin for the tree to miss their homes, but it did and they were very thankful. They were also lucky to have "tree man" for helping them remove this huge tree. I am sure his neighbors owe him a couple dinners at T.C.'s.





Now after combing through Main Street I took a right up the hill and found some more 2 and 3 foot diameter trees down. Based on what I had seen I certainly would say that it took 70 mph wind gusts to take down some of those trees.




The final piece of the puzzle would be going to Pat Jarboe's house. I had to check out what direction his trees were laying compared to those down on Main Street. Below you can see his huge Cherry Tree that he lost and I might add that it got all tangled up in an Orange Sage which is not a good combination when clearing brush. Pat and his family are good friends with the Prangley's and when I saw him working out there there was no doubt that I would help him out. The amazing part is that even though I was going on two hours sleep, I felt a surge of energy and felt terrific after helping clear a good 5 piles of brush. He did not force me to help him....really! It is the Midwest way! People in this part of the country live to help others after a big storm. Sometimes it may even be strangers or neighbors you haven't talked to in awhile. I never really quite understood this concept until after our big storm on Friday. Storms in this part of the country bring people together and there is not a better feeling in the world. So like George Washington, I cannot lie...I helped chop down or at least clear a cherry tree! :) There is the cherry tree below.



Here is a picture of Nathan Jarboe, the biggest helper out there along with Pat and his "chain-saw" gang comprised of his Dad. Mrs. Jarboe made everything just right and Nathana brought the much needed refreshments. The big story was that little guy, Nathan who loved working and I think takes after his Grandfathers quite well. Mr. Wilson would be proud. He has a farmer work ethic that is for sure! If you look closely you can see how huge the pile of brush got. By time we were done it was at least 10 feet high.



Now the best part of being Pat Jarboe's friend was that he is not only great to go caving and camping with (I might add I am really not a huge camper....but with Pat, I can stand it). But, he is like having a nature guide with you and a living GPS. So Pat, Nathan, and I got in the car and made up a great storm recovery and assessment team. Pat had a pad and sketched the direction in which all the trees fell after once again driving around Main street. We noticed all the trees were lying toward the southeast which meant that it was in fact straight-line wind damage. It was confirmed on Railroad Street when we went to the historical home that was hit with the huge 3 foot in diameter tree. We were all sad about that home being hit and hopefully they can continue to renovate it even after this storm. You can see it leaning to the southeast below. It was one vicious northwest wind that came through Battle Ground.



I then called this in to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis before I finally crashed on Saturday afternoon. Notice the Virtual Earth shot of the area we drove around. Most of the damage was in the "V" shape you see above between Main Street and Railroad Street. Our Precision 18 computer shows the direction of the hurricane force wind that blew through town. The big thing is everybody is safe and sound! Thanks again to Pat! Thank you all your nice comments on our storm coverage. It was certainly a team effort and you had a big role in our success as well. Great job bloggers, viewers, storm spotters, emergency management, the Weather Service, Live Doppler 18, Precision, and yes our wonderful newsroom, and my great weather team that includes our weather intern Kevin Burris. This was a good tune-up for a busy June. We need to keep working together to stay safe. I will have more on a stormy pattern shaping up tomorrow here on the blog.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is some video glad onece again that that did not happen here also that was some lightning I heard that when lignhning strikes the earth it opens a little hole up in the air and after the lightning gos through you here the air collapse back together and that is were you get the sound of thunder!!!.

Justin in Lafayette.

Anonymous said...

Great video, so close to home! Glad all is safe!

Teri in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

Ya that is what my mom and her bf saw..that is by radnor and ockley right?
I was living there and I hate how bad the storms seem out there and how there are no tornado sirens..the wind is worse out there to and it would freak me out..so i am glad I live in town now.

Anonymous said...

Renee, Please always remember that tornados and bad weather can occure anywhere, not just out in the country but in town as well. Always remember the safty rules for lightning, and high winds. AND ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN FOR A SAFE PLACE DURING SEVERE STORMS! Take care and keep calm during storms, At times, storms did and still do "freak me out" However I do have my safe place, my weather radio,computer and TV!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike, Accu Weather says that we are to get 2.49 inches of rain tonight into tomorrow. I trust in your forcast, are we going to get that much rain???? We are already overflowing with this weather pattern!

Anonymous said...

Hey mike , was wondering what you currently think of our Tornado chances for Tuesday afternoon and evening ? I see that the SPC has us in a slight , nearing a moderate risk, specialy if we get that day time heating from the sunshine ! was an exciting weekend I was traveling up in northern indiana on friday night. i was located at 700 south near state road 13, when a tornado touchdown at 400 south at st. rd. 13. was awesome sight, it was black and green ahead of the storm. Sadly i didnt get any pictures, i had the computer on my lap. and my two dogs were with me. couldnt grab the camera everything happened so quickly ! Thanks for your blogs and forcast .. Brandon ( southside indy )

Anonymous said...

I was wondering the same, from what NWS reports the main threat for tonight is Lightning, and tomorrow high winds, large hail and a lot of rain! The west is gettig hit hard again, with softball size hail, and high wind, poss tornados, is this moving our way????

Anonymous said...

Ah man, you mean we've got more of this stuff coming? :p

Yeah let us know what the tornado predictions are.

Anonymous said...

Yep, perhaps more on the way, Yet I will be watching Mike and checking his blog for his forcast. He does a great job keeping us informed.

Teri in Laf.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of rain...got a little pop-up coming my way probably arriving in 20 minutes or so.

(Monticello)

Anonymous said...

from what I saw on the weather channel, if you have any yard work to do, such as mowing you should better be getting this evening

Anonymous said...

We got some storms a comin...my left ankle is a hurtin' again. It always hurts when a storms a comin'.

Anonymous said...

I just checked my weather map's and it saided that tonight around 4:00am is when the storms are going to move in but the strong storms are going to start to move into area by 4:00pm tuesday and go through out midnight so I'll be watching this very closely dont want a repeat of a few days ago!!!

Justin in Lafayette.

Bull/Bear Forecast Team said...

To one and all:

Friday update: The capping that was supposed to limit TSRA development weakened and voila..

Cap
(also called "Lid") A layer of relatively warm air aloft, usually several thousand feet above the ground, which suppresses or delays the development of thunderstorms. Air parcels rising into this layer become cooler than the surrounding air, which inhibits their ability to rise further and produce thunderstorms. As such, the cap often prevents or delays thunderstorm development even in the presence of extreme instability. However, if the cap is removed or weakened, then explosive thunderstorm development can occur.
As happened(so says me)... at least that is another excuse of mine(that is some of the actual explaination of capping)..

now to the Bull/Bear Forecast....

If you looked at the picture from Sat blog.... you will be happy to know that it still looks the same, which explains the pop up shower that thoroughly wet it down this afternoon. Thus...

Rain, rain and more rain...That farmer will not get that hay put up this week and I could have sworn I saw local woodland creatures lining up 2 X 2.... need I say more?

Anonymous said...

Bull/Bear, I did not see your pic from Sat. however I have read what you posted previously. I am worried about more flooding and storms tomorrow and later in the week.

Ray in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

Round and Round and Round she goes where La-Nina lands is for her to know. She can and has out witted the best

Ray in Lafayette

Anonymous said...

"Renee, Please always remember that tornados and bad weather can occure anywhere, not just out in the country but in town as well. Always remember the safty rules for lightning, and high winds. AND ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN FOR A SAFE PLACE DURING SEVERE STORMS! Take care and keep calm during storms, At times, storms did and still do "freak me out" However I do have my safe place, my weather radio,computer and TV!"

Ya I agree, the reason y I dont like it there is bc there are no sirens and i dont know what the countiies are around us so I feel like i am not as safe there as i am here in Lafayette with sirens.There was a few times I was ready to grab my two small kids and head to the basment, if u can call it that lol.So I do know that it doesnt matter where u live it can happen.

I see a storm is comming I guess.