rider on the storm

[Cloggy]

OK I over exaggerated, it was just me, I went into work this morning at 0700 hours, it was about wind force 9 and raining, I thought it might spice up my otherwise boring 45 min commute . I chose the most open (windswept) route along the coast as in my experience I come across less debris (there are hardly any large tree's on this route) It was quite blustery but it was mostly tailwind so it wasn't bad at all :thumbup:
I work in a building on a promontory in the sea, with water all around, so as you can imagine really exposed.


Anyway around midday the storm hit, we were not allowed to leave the building as there were large pieces of debris flying around outside. My building looks out to the Island of Texel where they experienced wind force 12 winds I was pleased that by about 1400 hours we were allowed outside again as the worst of the storm had passed. According to the website "weerplaza" it was the strongest storm in the last 37 years in the Netherlands. I must admit I have seen many storms but this was definitely the worst. Not too much damage at my work (apart from a few roofing panels flying off) but there was lots of other damage all around the Netherlands (although the worst near the coast).
Here are a few pics taken of fallen trees by the media:

Around 1800 hours I geared up again and took the same route home, it was now about wind force 7 but the wind was pretty much at a 90 degree angle which made made it fun to say the least.

 

[darius]

Yikes. Those pics really tell the story. Glad you had a mostly safe ride!

 

[iviyth0s]

Glad you're alright! (was hopin' to see the FZ in one of the pics though :squid

 

[Erci]

Storms can be fun, but can also really suck! Glad you came out of it unscathed!

 

[lytehouse]

Yikes Martin!!

but what are wind force 12 winds?

 

[ShoopCE]

Yikes Martin!!

but what are wind force 12 winds?

Lytehouse,

It's a nautical term. Force 12 is hurricane level.

Beaufort scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I looked it up years ago because Billy Joel mentions the phrase in his song Storm Front.

Chris :wav: <<< Big Waves, get it?

Glad you're OK, Cloggy.

 

[motojoe122]

Pics look like when Sandy blew thru here. It wasnt bad at my house, but the next morning trees were uprooted like your pics. Glad you are safe and sound, can you explain the wind force some more?

 

[Cloggy]

Yikes. Those pics really tell the story. Glad you had a mostly safe ride!

Glad you're alright! (was hopin' to see the FZ in one of the pics though :squid

Thanks guys, it was quite exiting TBH, no pics as I rode to work and back in the dark (especially since the clocks have gone back). My bike was tucked up in a solid bike/motorbike shed for the worst of the day.

Storms can be fun, but can also really suck! Glad you came out of it unscathed!

I agree Eric, I had fun :thumbup: I have to add it was calculated as I kept an eye on the predicted weather, mainly strength and direction of winds, but if you get it wrong . It made a big difference that I took the windswept coastal road yesterday, this morning I took the inland route and it was still strewn with broken branches and leaves, the felled trees had already been cleared from the road.

Yikes Martin!!
but what are wind force 12 winds?

Lytehouse,
It's a nautical term. Force 12 is hurricane level.
Beaufort scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I looked it up years ago because Billy Joel mentions the phrase in his song Storm Front.
Chris :wav: <<< Big Waves, get it?
Glad you're OK, Cloggy.

Thanks for the link and explaination Chris

Pics look like when Sandy blew thru here. It wasnt bad at my house, but the next morning trees were uprooted like your pics. Glad you are safe and sound, can you explain the wind force some more?

Joe there were many uprooted trees around here this was partly due to the mild fall up to now (it was 15degrees celcius yesterday morning) so the trees still had most of their leaves, which creates more resistance. As Chris says the Beaufort scale is an easy way of telling real windspeed using indication from physical things as opposed to the wind you feel. As a sailor (and working for the Navy) I use it a lot, if you're in a boat and travelling toward the wind it feels as if there is more wind than there actually is, the same as when travelling with a tail wind you feel the wind less, so you use indicators like waves or (stationary) flags to determine wind speed.

I was talking to a friend of mine in Sweden (on facebook) and he said that the storm hit them last night, I hope that everyone is safe.

Luckily the storm is losing strength as it travels on.

 

[odachi13]

I was enjoying the same winds yesterday morning on the motorway, the fazer isn't the wind sail my old gixxer was so it's just me who is blown about. My only concern was the large trucks who kept changing lane as the wind dictated!

 

[Cloggy]

I was enjoying the same winds yesterday morning on the motorway, the fazer isn't the wind sail my old gixxer was so it's just me who is blown about. My only concern was the large trucks who kept changing lane as the wind dictated!

I must admit my commute is a main road, I hate trucks in high winds but even more so on a motorway. They not only get blown all around the place but they also create some nasty turbulance I always try to get around them ASAP, and if this is not possible then I keep my distance until it is, being aware which side is winward and which leeward helps to judge what kind of effects you can expect.

 

[agf]

hope all our european brethren ( and sisters too ) are weathering these storms ok

stay safe folks

 

[Cloggy]

here's a weather map of the Netherlands yesterday showing wind speeds:

Km/u = Km/h.

Here's an English story (about yesterdays storm)

 

[motojoe122]

Thanks guys, it was quite exiting TBH, no pics as I rode to work and back in the dark (especially since the clocks have gone back). My bike was tucked up in a solid bike/motorbike shed for the worst of the day.


I agree Eric, I had fun :thumbup: I have to add it was calculated as I kept an eye on the predicted weather, mainly strength and direction of winds, but if you get it wrong . It made a big difference that I took the windswept coastal road yesterday, this morning I took the inland route and it was still strewn with broken branches and leaves, the felled trees had already been cleared from the road.



Thanks for the link and explaination Chris



Joe there were many uprooted trees around here this was partly due to the mild fall up to now (it was 15degrees celcius yesterday morning) so the trees still had most of their leaves, which creates more resistance. As Chris says the Beaufort scale is an easy way of telling real windspeed using indication from physical things as opposed to the wind you feel. As a sailor (and working for the Navy) I use it a lot, if you're in a boat and travelling toward the wind it feels as if there is more wind than there actually is, the same as when travelling with a tail wind you feel the wind less, so you use indicators like waves or (stationary) flags to determine wind speed.

I was talking to a friend of mine in Sweden (on facebook) and he said that the storm hit them last night, I hope that everyone is safe.

Luckily the storm is losing strength as it travels on.

I remember that scale now:thumbup: I never did much with it since I was in the engine room all of the time. The only wind I felt was the 80deg.F ventilation in a 130deg.F engineroom