May 20, 2013
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Storm over Tampa
On my way home this afternoon, there was a glorious thunderstorm over Tampa. This is what it looked like from the I-275 causeway:
In my neighborhood there were lots of little limbs down. My street was blocked by a fallen tree. Fortunately it didn’t hit the power lines.
It appears to have had four or five trunks starting about six feet above the ground. The wood was shattered and rotten.
This is the trunk, which broke off at ground level.
About half an hour after I got home, I heard chainsaws. When I looked, I saw that the road had been cleared and the limbs were lying in a pile. When I came back from the gym a couple of hours later, the brush trucks were there.
I enjoy a good storm, but was sobered by the devastation in Oklahoma. Heartbreaking. I’ve been praying since I saw the footage on the gym TV.
Comments (19)
Well that’s a scary heading this evening — I’m glad you weren’t having a tornado!
I’m just reading about the tornado. My heart goes out to the people of OKC.
I’ve been praying too. I’ve lost possessions to tornadoes before but never people.
I enjoyed seeing your tree damage photos. That happens several times a year here.
@slmret - Yeah, I’m very grateful. Hurricanes come through here occasionally, and often tornadoes with them. I’ve been getting the trees around the house trimmed back to minimize the likelihood of them falling on the roof.
@Roadkill_Spatula - That sounds like the brush clearance that homeowners here take care of every early spring — no weeds/brush/grasses within 20-50 feet of a house. A good protective measure to take, especially in a new-to-you house.
Why do trees always fall across the road/street? Has it ever been researched?
@Inciteful - To get to the other side, I suppose.
Get use to it, sir. This storm of yours marks the start of the rainy afternoon storm season in Florida. Not to mention the huricanes
A nice way of putting it ” A good storm”. Unfortunately storms can turn bad and tornado especially.
@carlo - Yes, tornadoes and hurricanes can do amazing amounts of destruction.
@Nostra_Damus - I’ve been getting all the trees around the house trimmed back.
@C_L_O_G - My grandpa’s cousins in Ottawa, KS, had a tornado hit their house many years ago. It blew a wall on top of them, which the cousin was able to lift with his feet (adrenaline is an amazing thing), and did a lot of other damage on the farm. They had a check in the kitchen, written to pay a grocery bill. Some weeks later the check was mailed back to them from a town in Missouri 25 miles away.
every since hurricane sandy hit us, i’ve been a little bit more conscious of mother nature’s power. there really is no way to describe its power until you come face to face with it.
hoping you are okay today. bad, bad, bad storm. we live in Tampa and got caught up in the mess on the way back from St. Pete.
Interesting ecology with the hanging moss. I suppose collecting moss was pretty easy after a storm?
It is good the local government was on top of things clearing the roads. I suppose you also have no complaints about the roads being fixed?
I don’t think I could summon up much adrenaline. last week we had to move a 600 pound transformer and I now feel humbled about the things I can move.
@Roadkill_Spatula - That is an amazing story. I’m glad they lived to tell it.
@PPhilip - I haven’t figured out yet how some trees end up loaded down with Spanish moss and others don’t have any at all. Yes, our county seems to be efficient at handling storm-related issues.
A 600-lb transformer would be very tough to move without lots of leverage and a forklift or crane.
@Love_in_102 - It did rain hard, and there must have been some wind. All I got on my drive was heavy rain. I keep my upstairs windows open (my a/c ducts desperately need cleaning), but I didn’t have any water blow in, from what I could tell. The lanai was soggy, though.
Love a nice rain but can live without the storms. They are amazing to watch out over the water thou.
I’ve been praying for everyone effected by the weather. It’s been a weird Spring.
I’m glad you were safe in that storm in your area!
The tornadoes and hurricanes really scare me…but, weirdly, I’ve always been able to ride out the earthquakes with little concern. Guess I got complacently used to them.
HUGS!!!
Thank you so much for rec’ing my post about my friends and their family in OK. I sure appreciate all the prayers for them!