WHNT Weather

That Blasted Wind!

Posted on: 12:07 pm, February 26, 2013, by Jason Simpson, updated on: 12:15pm, February 26, 2013

I walked out of the station last night, and it felt like a cold tropical storm was going on out there! It wasn’t anything all that unusual; this kind of thing happens from time to time. It’s just that we have short-term memories when it comes to what a 30-40 MPH wind actually feels like.

The highest wind gust I can find over the past 24 hours was 49 MPH on Monte Sano. There are always questions about the “warning” process for events like this, and the bottom line is, it’s not a severe weather event. Severe storms have to have a definition, and the lower limit for the wind to be “severe” is 58 miles per hour. That does not mean it’s not disruptive, and that’s why we spent so much time on social media, the blog, and on television talking about the wind last night. There’s nothing you can do to guard against weather like this; damage is sporadic, but there is happens, it is a big deal to those affected. Here are some photos we have seen come in to photo@whnt.com:

Photo Gallery Expand 1 of 4

From Carson Clark: Hwy 227 in Guntersville - Pine tree blown on a house
From Gary Parker in Fort Payne
Pick-up truck smashed by a tree from from Joey Mann
From Garry Turner on Keel Mountain near Gurley. Roof blown off a shed.

Here are some of the storm reports from this windy weather via NWS Huntsville:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
644 AM CST TUE FEB 26 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1100 PM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 6 NW OWENS CROSSROADS   34.63N 86.54W
02/25/2013                   MADISON            AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            A TREE WAS KNOCKED DOWN ONTO BAILEY COVE ROAD. TIME
            ESTIMATED.

1100 PM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 2 SW HUNTSVILLE         34.71N 86.61W
02/25/2013                   MADISON            AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN ON POWER LINES AT THE
            INTERSECTION OF 12TH AVENUE AND TRIANA BOULEVARD. TIME
            ESTIMATED.

1100 PM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 6 N HUNTSVILLE          34.81N 86.58W
02/25/2013                   MADISON            AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            A TREE WAS KNOCKED DOWN ONTO POWER LINES. TIME ESTIMATED.

1200 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 5 S SCOTTSBORO          34.60N 86.03W
02/26/2013                   JACKSON            AL   911 CALL CENTER

            1 OR 2 TREES BLOWN DOWN JUST SOUTH OF SCOTTSBORO

1235 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG CROSSVILLE              34.29N 85.99W
02/26/2013                   DEKALB             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN CROSSVILLE

1235 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG KILPATRICK              34.27N 86.08W
02/26/2013                   DEKALB             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN KILPATRICK

1250 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 5 ENE GUNTERSVILLE      34.38N 86.20W
02/26/2013                   MARSHALL           AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SEVERAL TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 227 RUNNING
            FROM THE CITY OF GUNTERSVILLE UP THE MOUNTAIN TO
            GUNTERSVILLE STATE PARK.

1250 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 2 E GUNTERSVILLE        34.36N 86.26W
02/26/2013                   MARSHALL           AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            A TREE FELL ONTO A TRAILER HOME ON HIGHWAY 227 IN
            GUNTERSVILLE. THE OCCUPANT WAS UNHARMED.

1250 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 4 S GUNTERSVILLE        34.30N 86.30W
02/26/2013                   MARSHALL           AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF PLEASANT
            GROVE ROAD AND COUNTY ROAD 205. POWER OUTAGES ARE
            REPORTED IN THIS AREA. OTHER REPORTS OF TREES WERE DOWN

            IN MARSHALL COUNTY OCCURRING FROM 1250 AM THROUGH 120 AM.

0102 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 2 E FORT PAYNE          34.44N 85.68W
02/26/2013                   DEKALB             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            PHONE LINES WERE KNOCKED OUT FROM THE EASTERN SIDE OF
            FORT PAYNE TO ATOP LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.

0130 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 5 E BRIDGEPORT          34.94N 85.63W
02/26/2013                   JACKSON            AL   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            A TREE WAS KNOCKED DOWN ONTO THE HIGHWAY IN THE BRYANT
            COMMUNITY. TIME ESTIMATED.

0130 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG SCOTTSBORO              34.67N 86.03W
02/26/2013                   JACKSON            AL   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            A TREE WAS KNOCKED DOWN ONTO A ROAD IN SCOTTSBORO. TIME
            ESTIMATED.

0140 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 1 S GERALDINE           34.34N 86.00W
02/26/2013                   DEKALB             AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            A TREE WAS KNOCKED DOWN ON THE ROADWAY NEAR THE
            INTERSECTION OF AL HIGHWAY 227 AND COUNTY ROADY 161 IN
            GERALDINE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1123 AM CST TUE FEB 26 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1216 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 5 E COLUMBUS CITY       34.47N 86.15W
02/26/2013                   MARSHALL           AL   911 CALL CENTER

            TREE DOWN ACROSS A POWER LINE NEAR THE 3000 BLOCK OF
            SOUTH SAUTY ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED.

1250 AM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 3 SE COLUMBUS CITY      34.43N 86.19W
02/26/2013                   MARSHALL           AL   911 CALL CENTER

            ONE TREE WAS BLOWN DOWN ON MELTONSVILLE ROAD. TIME
            ESTIMATED.

-Jason
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