# Too many storms



## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Well it is nice to be able to have my internet back not to mention electricity. The last 4 days have been a real test starting with a total of 8" of rain in 24 hours Tuesday into Wednesday. Included in that was a tornado that touched down in several places west to east but past over my town. Yes I saw part of it. It was shrouded in rain but still partially visible and of course high wind and heavy rain. Before that, Saturday day was a straight line wind and rain storm that, for a while, had sustained winds of 70 mph according to the fire chief who is my neighbor. If that is what a hurricane is like, count me out. No electricity for the whole town and other towns since downed trees took out power lines. A few bigger cities as well. That storm brought 6" of rain here, more in other places. I was without power for 48 hours. Just got it back when the tornado storm came along and took more trees, power poles and lines so no power again. I got lots of fire wood now since I lost a tree and several branches from others. Tired of running a chain saw! 
Funny how I was in the basement surrounded by trains but not able to do a thing. 

Kenny


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Hopefully that will be an event to never be repeated.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Glad you and your home are safe. Just never know when and where severe weather will hit.


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## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

Battery backup supply needed for the trains!


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

We got some of those storms here. 250,000 without power . Thank goodness I was not one of them. Strange thing was it all just lasted 30 minutes. I don't know how many inches of rain but it really poured and nasty winds. Sorry you were with out power for 4 days. Terrible. It has been really hot here. Like 94. That has been stirring up storms in
late afternoon. 94 is really hot with our humidity.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Yeah that was quite an experience of storms. Tornadoes are not uncommon through here but not 70 mph driven rain storms. That went on for some time. Don't know how long but too long. I wasn't in the basement for that one. I never experienced so much rain blown so hard against my house. I have a picture window that faces the north. That storm took a north west/south east path stretching into Missouri so that window took a direct hit. I honestly, I don't know how it withstood 70 mph wind driven rain. Like I said, it was just like you see on TV when they report on a hurricane. Unbelievable. Tornadoes I can deal with. When we are in the path of one and the sirens go off you know to head to the basement. While tornado winds can be much higher, and usually short lived, most of the time they move through quickly. 

Mopac, I don't doubt you experienced a similar storm situation. Before the power went out they were showing the radar scans stretching from north of me down through Missouri. Very large area and very large storm of red and yellow radar colors. I wondered if you were involved. The temperature was in the low 90's here and no power to run A/C or fans. Plenty of gas for the chain saw though. Without power no way to pump gas for while so I was glad I had just filled a 5 gallon can. I have relatives in southern Illinois who experienced damage as well. 

The tornado we experienced did a strange thing. The storm it came from began a little east of the Mississippi river, came from west to east more or less right down a highway which runs across Illinois and into Indiana. That highway is pretty much a straight line. Most of the damage was to corn fields but several small towns had damage too. I don't know how far east it went but at least 50 miles east of me according to next day reports on my battery powered storm radio. 
Dennis461, the thought of a battery back up did cross my mind since we used to have a poster on here , Benz Trainz, who posted a video showing how he ran trains using a car battery without using house power. 
Tom, I too hope that series of events back to back never happens again. 
Fire21, thanks for the kind thoughts. My trains are all safe. In fact. thanks to some landscape improvements I made 4 years back and the addition of a 1 hp. sump pump, not a drop of water in my basement. 

Kenny


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

8 inches of rain would have put water in my basement. 3 inches in 24 hours will put some in.
I bet your sump pump was running.


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## alaft61ri (Oct 11, 2019)

Iam from R.I. dont know how you handel that type of wether. We get hurricanes once in a while but the tornados scary. Well i glad to here everyone is safe. Take care.

Al


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## callmeIshmael2 (May 28, 2012)

Although I live just north of the Canadian/Washington border, when i read and see news about some of the weather that has been hitting all over the States, particularly storms and flash flooding, I shake my head and hope my fellow train fanatics aren't suffering thru those events. It's not like we all haven't been warned that things like this are a consequence of global warming. Here in southwestern BC near the Juan de Fuca Straits, white sharks have been spotted due to the warmer ocean water. Things are changing...


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Forget the battery backup. Get a generator.

After Hurricane Sandy we lost power for several days. That was in the fall and it got a little chilly. It also made me decide to get a generator and a transfer switch. We have only lost power a few times since Sandy, but once we lost power for 2 days in February due to a snow/ice storm. With the generator, we were able to have heat and hot water and keep our pipes from freezing.


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## alaft61ri (Oct 11, 2019)

I bought my generator year before sandy one of the smart things i did not many.lol


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

alaft61ri said:


> I bought my generator year before sandy one of the smart things i did not many.lol


Me too, the only thing is that when Sandy hit in NJ most of the gas stations couldn't pump as they had no backup electric supply.
Most took care of that problem now.
I bought a generator that runs off propane 3 months before Sandy hit. I was out for 3 days, I have 4 20 lbs cans and didn't even use a full can.
I only kept the fridge cold, And run a few lights and radio at night.
Heat I worry about in the winter, I have to get a transfer box in so if needed in the winter I can have heat.
I have gas for the hot water it does not need electric, gas for the heat too, so it doesn't need a whole lot of electric.
Plus with propane the carb and system stays clean. And propane never goes bad like gas it will last for many years in the can.

When we get straight line winds they move right along quickly. Sometimes at 70 MPH.
They do some damage! 
Depending on the hurricane and how and where it comes ashore matters a lot.
Sandy moved in pretty quick but drug all the water in behind her. But she took off West quickly and the water receded as quick as it came in.
But the damage was done.
Some hurricanes come in slow then you get the 10/12/14" rain. And a lot more wind damage from the sustained winds.

If I had my pick, I would take a good old winter Northeaster any day over the rest. 

Why is this in the S forum?
The other forums don't get storms?


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Bid Ed, what size is your generator? I have a 2Kw Honda and a 6Kw Briggs & Stratton, both gasoline. Never used either for home emergency. Use the Honda for camping in our RV, keep the B&S just in case.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Fire21 said:


> Bid Ed, what size is your generator? I have a 2Kw Honda and a 6Kw Briggs & Stratton, both gasoline. Never used either for home emergency. Use the Honda for camping in our RV, keep the B&S just in case.


I have a small one 4000 surge watts, 3250 running watts. I wanted the 7000/6000 running watts but it would have been a wait.
Someone had bought the last 7000 30 mins before I got there, Ed's world. So I carried out the smaller one, that was three weeks before Sandy hit.
It worked fine the one time I used it during the 3 days we were without power for Sandy.
I fire it up every once and a while and run it, most of the times it fires up on the first pull. If I turn everything to on. lol
With the propane you don't have to worry about the carb gunking up or bad gas.
I would like to get one of those large ones that come on automatically when the power goes down.
But I have only needed the generator one time so far, been here since 1996.
What are they Generic? That would be peace of mind having one of those.
Not cheap for the size I would want, but I do have natural gas now.
That would be nice, run the whole house like the power didn't even go down.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Lehigh74 said:


> Forget the battery backup. Get a generator.
> 
> After Hurricane Sandy we lost power for several days. That was in the fall and it got a little chilly. It also made me decide to get a generator and a transfer switch. We have only lost power a few times since Sandy, but once we lost power for 2 days in February due to a snow/ice storm. With the generator, we were able to have heat and hot water and keep our pipes from freezing.


I too have a generator and 2 kerosene heaters for heat in the winter. Those heaters work just fine and will run for hours on very little kerosene and no smell. I usually only need one of them. That one can also be used to cook food on. No not a steak dinner but anything that can be put in a pan. Always keep a good supply of soup and other such items. It ain't fancy but fills the belly. Most of that canned stuff has a long expiration date. I should follow my daughter's lead and buy a Generac unit that kicks on automatically. Too cheap to buy one. All my gasoline is treated so it will last. Works fine that way. I don't store more that 10 gallons. It gets cycled out for fresh every 3 months. Nothing goes to waste as my lawn mower likes it just fine as does my Jeep. 

Kenny


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Big Ed, I wasn't aware of any propane generators. I will check that out. Propane does burn cleaner. Propane can be stored forever plus I wouldn't have to worry about no power to pump gasoline in the winter when we have a snow storm power outage. 
Good question about why only S forum people have power issues and other forums don't get storms. 

Kenny


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

mopac said:


> 8 inches of rain would have put water in my basement. 3 inches in 24 hours will put some in.
> I bet your sump pump was running.


I bet 8" of rain would run down that hill and over that wall you have there like a water fall. That would create quite a mess. 

Kenny


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Kenny, that wall has what I call weep holes. I guess to let water behind the wall to escape. I have seen water
shooting 2 feet out from the wall. I repeat, never ever buy a house on side of hill. Always on top of hill.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

mopac said:


> Kenny, that wall has what I call weep holes. I guess to let water behind the wall to escape. I have seen water
> shooting 2 feet out from the wall. I repeat, never ever buy a house on side of hill. Always on top of hill.


The top of the hill would be the only place to be. The side or bottom of the hill would be the last place I would be. I'm sure at the time you bought, it looked good. At least you got a nice picture taking setting for your trains out of it. 
From my construction days, those holes you describe are indeed called weep holes. Other wise your wall probably wouldn't be there due to the pressure from the water soaked into the ground behind it. Any sort of retaining wall of a height greater than 4 feet at the bottom of a hill will have weep holes to relieve the pressure. At least that was the rule of thumb for according to civil engineers I worked around. 

Kenny


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

At my previous house (sold two years ago), we had numerous power outages lasting as long as five days. A generator was mandatory, and so was a chain saw! Since it was a heavily wooded lot, I lost count of the trees I lost in various storms. When Sandy came through, we got 75 MPH winds and had probably 15 trees down, the road was blocked for three days with about six trees laying on the power line. In all that 30 years time living there, trees fell all around us, somehow they managed to miss the house and any cars outside. The red lines are roughly the property lines, as you can see, not much but trees!









The current owners got hit with a storm a few weeks ago, trees fell on three cars and the house! The NWS said that the straight line winds in that storm were 60-70 MPH. I think I had used up all the luck the house had to offer, they have only owned it for a little over a year! I lived in fear of that for 30 years, don't know how I dodged that bullet for so long.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

You got lucky John.


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## Mikeh49 (Sep 20, 2015)

I guess they did not call it Sump Hall Road for nothing. Climate change, anyone?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

There's a lot of stumps there now, that's for sure!  I was lucky, there were a number of very close calls, but the only car damage in all that time was a small branch fell as my wife was driving out about a year before we moved out and put a dimple in the hood of her car. I am still amazed that all that wood coming down and none of it got us.


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## Mikeh49 (Sep 20, 2015)

I lost 8 trees including one on the house (no significant damage, but new shingles) from a micro-burst in Minnesota in the late 90's. Storms have continued to get more severe since.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

GRJ, that would have been quite the tree challenge. I would also say you indeed used up all that property's luck. Did the new owners know of your past good luck? Then again, you said 15 trees down. Maybe there's a reason that road is called Stump Hall Road. 
I have 5 trees left out of 7 and I am constantly picking up small branches not to mention the occasional large limb or two when there are storms like last week. I may end up losing one of my remaining trees which lost a good sized limb. Yes the chain saw is your best friend at those times. I know mine got a very good work out last week.

Kenny


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Mikeh49 said:


> I guess they did not call it Sump Hall Road for nothing. Climate change, anyone?


Don't believe in it. 

Kenny


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Mikeh49 said:


> I guess they did not call it Sump Hall Road for nothing. Climate change, anyone?


Yeah, it’s climate change, although the climate has been changing for billions of years, so it’s nothing new....just new to us, apparently.....

Eighty years ago, the continent was suffering through a long and terrible drought, and now we’re getting more rain than usual......so yeah, it’s changing....constantly.....the big difference now is, it’s starting to inconvenience us more, so we feel we need to fight/stop climate change.....

But we can’t, it’ll change whether we’re here or not, no matter what we do.....

Can we have an effect? Sure, albeit it very minimal.....recycle more, litter less, use less fossil fuels, etc.....

But we’ll always have a need to use/burn energy, because that’s how we have progressed from the Stone Age.....when they stop making millions of Ford F150’s and Ram trucks, then I’ll know mankind is getting serious about waste.....


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