Tuesday, April 14, 2009

What IS a Gravity Wave?


Sunday night a gravity wave moved across Alabama. I don't understand it either, but whatever it was, it included winds of 60 miles per hour. Did you know that 60 mph winds will turn your neighbor's trampoline into a flying saucer? Did you know that the impact of a flying trampoline rolling across the back of your house can break a window, tear away aluminum from the eave, and rip a gaping hole in your roof? Did you know that the sound of a trampoline crashing into your house at 12:45 a.m. is very upsetting? We thought a tornado was ripping the house apart with us in our bed!
But we were lucky compared to some residents.
Lots of people are still without power. That's the one downside of living in a city of large trees.
Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.

14 comments:

B SQUARED said...

I can sympathize with you after going thru several hurricanes a few years ago. People have no idea the power that wind has.

Judi said...

Oh,no! I love our trees. I slept right through it all. I enjoy your photos of this old city of ours.

Halcyon said...

Uh-oh. :( A flying trampoline sounds scary!!

Ken Mac said...

hide the women and children!

Hilda said...

Oh goodness, that sounds scary! Especially if it's sudden. At least with typhoons, there's always ample warning.

Sorry about the damages to your house, but I'm really glad no one got hurt.

D said...

B Squared - apparently people also don't know the damage that their unsecured trampoline can do!

Judi - I love our trees too! I hate to lose even ONE to storms.

Halcyon-it WAS scary first, then it was just aggravating!

Ken Mac - ha! I was headed to the closet to hide, then I realized it wasn't a tornado.

Hilda - thanks! We knew it would be windy. We just didn't know the trampoline would become airborne.

Virginia said...

Oh yeah. I slept right through Sunday night's storm but last year I had a HUGE oak get struck by lightning and it basically blew the top half of the tree off. Some large limbs ripped the gutters right off. Scariest sound I've ever heard. Glad you had no injuries. And getting the repairs done by anyone with two brain cells to rub together is half the fun!
V

My word verification is WINVO, you'll need lots of it.

Karen said...

Wow.. glad you are all okay. I think it was the same front that raced through here today. It did cause some damage a bit north of here but we just got heavy wind and rain. Some tornado sighting and hail not too far away.
We needed the rain but not the mess.

Lowell said...

Sorry to hear about that. Maybe it was part of the same system that moved through Florida...they got hit badly south of us, but some trees went through houses here, too.

We're surrounded by huge water oaks which have a weak root system and if one of those goes down, it will take the house out.

Scary!

Rose said...

You write so well...this got a chuckle from me but I can so imagine how you felt.

We had a couple big trees taken out last year because the one kept having big branches break out. One just missed our daughters car. We have been so glad it was gone...I really felt like the wind would have taken it later if we hadn't.

Merisi said...

That sounds terrible -
glad no one was out there and hurt.

Linda said...

How terrible. We complain about our weather in the UK, but compared to this our gripes are trivial. Glad you didn't have any more damage, but so sorry to hear about those other poor residents.

D said...

Thanks V. Actually we decided to skip the whole "wait for the adjuster, get estimates, then wait on someone with two brain cells to actually show up" shenanigans! Hubby fixed the roof Monday and is working on the window now. He's handy that way.
Karen-it probably was the same system, sorry to share. We've finally broken our drought, I think. But I'd rather skip the high winds too!
Jacob - next time, I'll try my best to stop the storm before it heads your way! ha ha
Rose - thanks! my parents had trees trimmed and cut down for the same reason.
Merisi-thanks for stopping by, we were relieved that our damage was minor
Lindab-it's springtime in Alabama, which is storm season. It's ridiculous to say, but we're used to it.

Dina said...

"Gravity wave" is new to me but its results in your house sound bad. What a fright that must have been!
Thank God you are OK.
I lived in Arkansas 1996-2002. Can't say I miss the thunderstorms and tornado warnings, at all! Jerusalem weather is a lot calmer.