Tornados and Hail!
Posted: April 11, 2011 Filed under: insurance 1 Comment »
Is This The Beginning Of An Active Storm Season!
With yesterday’s devastation being replayed on news channels everywhere there is no doubt that tornado and hail season is upon us. The peak U.S. tornado season lasts from March until early July. This is the time that warm, humid air often has to thrust upward against cool, dry air resulting in a tornado, in a simplified explanation.
Hail is formed in huge cumulonimbus clouds, commonly known as thunderheads. When the ground is heated during the day by the sun, the air close to the ground is heated as well. Hot air, being less dense and therefore lighter than cold air, rises and cools. As it cools, its capacity for holding moisture decreases. When the rising, warm air has cooled so much that it cannot retain all of its moisture, water vapor condenses forming hail.
This past weekend, in many areas, temperatures reached record highs. In Mapleton, Iowa, on Saturday at about 7:20 a tornado destroyed 12 to 15 blocks in the southwest corner of town. The tornado was on the ground for 3 ½ miles and measured three-quarters of a mile wide at one point, according to the National Weather Service office in Valley, Neb.
Powerful thunderstorms continued to sweep through our countries mid-section Saturday evening bringing lightning that injured at least nine people in North Carolina attending a dog show. Hail as large as baseballs that smashed hundreds of car windows.
In Dallas, and surrounding areas powerful storms roared through overnight, bringing high winds and punishing hail, and leaving behind destruction in their wake. The damage was so bad in Johnson County that Alvarado ISD was cancelled for the day.
Roofs were ripped off homes, glass windows were shattered, fences were beaten and flattened, and hailstones were piled like golf balls in some areas. Several homes in Prosper, Texas had their windows blown out by what one resident described as hailstones flying horizontally in the extreme wind. I find this a little unsettling as I was sleeping only a few miles away and our homes escaped unscathed.
William Gray and Phil Klotzbach have released their upcoming hurricane season predictions. They have predicted 16 named storms, of tropical storm strength or higher,will form. Nine of those will become hurricanes and five would become major hurricanes, of at least Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with top sustained winds of at least 111 mph.
For adjusters around the nation the eventful beginning of storm season is welcomed with anticipation of much-needed income. For those who supply and staff events this may be a forewarning of an active season to come and now is the time to be ready. With the last few fairly inactive seasons companies have had time to either replenish their staff or are in a struggle to obtain letters of commitment and locate past adjusters that they had relied upon in times of a hectic storm season. Hope that your training is complete, license are ready, CE credits obtained, knowledgeable in the proper estimating platforms! If not GIVE ME A CALL OR EMAIL ME @ maryannemedina@aol.com or mmedina@vale-ts.com
Great post. You never know what the storm season will look like, but you always want to be prepared.