On April 10, 1996 a wind speed of 253 miles-per-hour
was recorded in Barrow Island, Australia.
The wind, resulting from a typhoon, is the strongest recorded to date.
I can only imagine what a wind that strong might
do. Twice in my life I have been standing
in a pine forest when strong winds toppled a tree only a few feet from where I
stood. I have seen roofs lifted against
stormy skies and yard furniture shuffled into jumbles. I have seen photographs of
dimension lumber driven into concrete block by fierce gusts.
A couple of nights ago, a terrific windstorm
assaulted my house. The winds arose
quite suddenly, causing my whole house to crack its knuckles. Pressure punched at my ears. The
linden tree in my front yard smeared into an overwrought stance, the leaves hissing. At the time, I had several windows cracked partially
open for fresh air. Fearing that the
winds might rip the panes and sashes away, I quickly trotted around the mostly
unlit rooms of my home and cranked shut the windows.
Soon after, my house plunged into darkness when the
power lines slapped together and shorted-out the supply grid someplace in the
east valley. My house remained without
power for many hours.
I did not notice until this morning the pine needles
forced into the corner of my screen.
Most Interesting thing? The nearest pine tree is at least 100 feet
away.
--Mitchell
Hegman
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