Worst thunderstorm you have ever been in

[Ice bowl 67]

What was the worst storm you have ever been in? You guys ever seen huge Hail or been in a tornado or huge flooding?

[/dev/null]

Maybe 10 or so years ago I was smoking a cigarette in the entryway to the apartment building I lived in when a thunderstorm rolled thru.  No big deal.

 

Except this time a few feet away from me i see this blue thing starting to rise up from the ground.  Looked almost like a plant or tree sprouting up in slow motion.  Then the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard, the earth felt like it shook, the air around me was full of static, and that blue thing shot straight up into the sky

[RochesterRob]

20 minutes ago, Ice bowl 67 said:

What was the worst storm you have ever been in? You guys ever seen huge Hail or been in a tornado or huge flooding?

  Probably about 20 years ago or so.  The rain was so heavy and the lightning so fierce and frequent I just sat in the pickup which was sitting near the house versus making a run to the back door.  It was that intense.

 

  Somewhat related is there is high voltage lines nearby and a dozen plus years ago they replaced a tower near my place.  The top most metal had burn marks which had to be from lightning strikes over the decades the tower was in service.

[Bad Things]

2 experiences spring to mind...

 

2012 Coolangatta, Austrailia. (Gold Coast)  We were holidaying on the 14th floor of this fantastic high rise.  On our last night, there was the most intense lightening storm I've ever witnessed.  Constant lightening strikes all around us for hours.

 

Mid-90's, Northern Colorado.

I had gone hiking on one of my favourite peaks.  When I got to the summit, I laid down to soak up the sun.  Next thing I know, I wake up to ran falling on my face.  The skies around me were BLACK.  As I got up to repack my daypack, the hairs on my head began to stand on end.  (Scheisse!)  I ran as fast as I could off of the summit and found shelter in this little cave for the next hour as the storm passed.  I honestly thought I was a goner that day.

[RochesterRob]

4 minutes ago, Bad Things said:

2 experiences spring to mind...

 

2012 Coolangatta, Austrailia. (Gold Coast)  We were holidaying on the 14th floor of this fantastic high rise.  On our last night, there was the most intense lightening storm I've ever witnessed.  Constant lightening strikes all around us for hours.

 

Mid-90's, Northern Colorado.

I had gone hiking on one of my favourite peaks.  When I got to the summit, I laid down to soak up the sun.  Next thing I know, I wake up to ran falling on my face.  The skies around me were BLACK.  As I got up to repack my daypack, the hairs on my head began to stand on end.  (Scheisse!)  I ran as fast as I could off of the summit and found shelter in this little cave for the next hour as the storm passed.  I honestly thought I was a goner that day.

  It seems there was more intense pop-up activity during the 1970's and 1980's versus current times.  Our dog was very afraid of thunder and when she went into hiding during the summer months we knew a storm was only maybe 10-15 minutes away.

[Ice bowl 67]

4 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  It seems there was more intense pop-up activity during the 1970's and 1980's versus current times.  Our dog was very afraid of thunder and when she went into hiding during the summer months we knew a storm was only maybe 10-15 minutes away.

I remember a couple storms in the 1990s that were wicked. 

[RochesterRob]

Just now, Ice bowl 67 said:

I remember a couple storms in the 1990s that were wicked. 

  I've seen many strong storms during my life but the one I mentioned was the only one intense enough where I would not leave the pickup for fear of being struck by lightning.  Not that being in a vehicle is extremely safe but better than running upright in the open.  I do remember one time lightning struck near my grandmother's house while I was there.  Probably as close as 10 feet from the door but it was the only close strike in that storm.

[PBLESS]

We used to go to Elmira to visit friends and we laughed when we would go over this bridge which was over the Chemung " river". We thought it was funny they called it a river. About 200 ft. down was a trickle of water that struggled to be a brook. I think it was early summer of probably 1971,  an early season hurricane, came up the west coast of Florida and shoved some water in Tampa Bay and caused some flooding downtown. Then that storm went up the east coast of the US and dropped an incredible amount of rain, flooding was epic and I was told that bridge I spoke of was knocked out by HOUSES floating down what had been a trickle of water.

I lived in Buffalo, Cheektowaga and Lancaster til I was 34 yrs old and saw some good lightening storms, but in 1972 we moved to the West Palm Beach area. They say Florida is the lightening capitol of the US--------------believe me I HAVE NO REASON TO DOUBT IT! My houses have been hit 3 times, a tree 20ft. away from where I was driving got blown into toothpicks and I have a nephew who claims he was hit 3 times in his life. The nightime cloud to cloud lightening that I call the "southern Lights" is beautiful to watch but the ones that come down can be pretty scary. By the way, about 25 yrs ago it rained 30" in North Palm Beach in 24 hrs.

[BUFFALOKIE]

1 hour ago, Ice bowl 67 said:

What was the worst storm you have ever been in? You guys ever seen huge Hail or been in a tornado or huge flooding?

Tulsa. Where tornado alley, and the bible belt cross roads. The end.

Edited June 19, 2018 by BUFFALOKIE

[RochesterRob]

10 minutes ago, PBLESS said:

We used to go to Elmira to visit friends and we laughed when we would go over this bridge which was over the Chemung " river". We thought it was funny they called it a river. About 200 ft. down was a trickle of water that struggled to be a brook. I think it was early summer of probably 1971,  an early season hurricane, came up the west coast of Florida and shoved some water in Tampa Bay and caused some flooding downtown. Then that storm went up the east coast of the US and dropped an incredible amount of rain, flooding was epic and I was told that bridge I spoke of was knocked out by HOUSES floating down what had been a trickle of water.

I lived in Buffalo, Cheektowaga and Lancaster til I was 34 yrs old and saw some good lightening storms, but in 1972 we moved to the West Palm Beach area. They say Florida is the lightening capitol of the US--------------believe me I HAVE NO REASON TO DOUBT IT! My houses have been hit 3 times, a tree 20ft. away from where I was driving got blown into toothpicks and I have a nephew who claims he was hit 3 times in his life. The nightime cloud to cloud lightening that I call the "southern Lights" is beautiful to watch but the ones that come down can be pretty scary. By the way, about 25 yrs ago it rained 30" in North Palm Beach in 24 hrs.

  You are thinking about Hurricane Agnes back in 1972 when you refer to Elmira.  Yep, a lot of those rivers look like nothing until a storm drops several inches over a wide area there.  The Susquehanna River at Waverly, NY you can just about walk across most days and not get your shorts damp unless a lot of rain has fallen.  

[Turk71]

I was hiking out of the Grand Canyon on the north rim around 8000 ft. and a wicked lightning storm was chasing me up Bright Angel canyon. I was still about a mile or so from the rim when it caught up to me. I was inside the lightning cloud and my hairs were standing you could feel, see and hear the electricity in the air. I thought I was a goner and was saying my prayers. 

Another time I was playing softball on the south rim when an immense lightning strike blasted a tree just over the left field fence. It was so loud and shocking I instinctively ducked and covered my head. I was sitting on the bench and the electricity came up from the ground through the steel frame wooden top bench and arced from a bolt into my inner thigh. The girl sitting next to me saw it and freaked, evidently she just happened to be looking between my legs, it lasted a few seconds and when it was done a little puff of smoke came from my leg and I had a small cauterized hole in my skin. So I guess I can say I was hit by lightning. Some people there swore they saw electricity pass through people in the outfield. 

 Used to sit on the edge of the canyon rim and watch incredible lightning light up the canyon ripping through the air in every direction.

[ExiledInIllinois]

As a Boy Scout @ Philmont in New Mexico.  Hiking up to the "Tooth of Time" Ridge... 1984.  It was getting bad up to Schaffer's Pass to Peak to ToT Ridge...

 

...We were trying to rendezvous w/the rest of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council @ the Tooth of Time... So we could be up early to see the sun rise over The Tooth while being on The Tooth.  So our crew/squad pressed on past our scheduled camp up to the ridge to make rendezvous well into late afternoon and evening when the thunderstorms roll in over the mountains...

 

...Climbing up the pass to Shaffer's we were getting pounded... At one point, lightning was popping everywhere... One flash struck around 10 yards away took a tree... We all hit the deck... Back in those days, no internal frame packs... We had aluminium external frames...

 

...We get to the top of Shaffer's and the start of the ridge @ the peak... There is a 100 yards of clearing.  It's that or go around and stay in the treeline for 10 times that. What's worse???  We darted across with hip belts off... Maybe pretty foolish... But I am here to tell the story... Thunderstorms popping everywhere!

 

Storms start to die down... We hike ridge a little... There there is a monument to a Scout that got zapped in 1936... We hike into evening and make rendezvous @ about 23:00... We just crash on trail after that 20 mile hike (we skipped a camp)... Sleeping bags right on trail...

 

...Wake up early before sunrise... To see others from GNF Council scattered all over trail in the pre-dawn... They made it to rendezvous after us.  Watch sunrise on the Tooth of Time.

 

The Tooth of Time is the landmark where the pioneers would turn on the Santa Fe Trail:

 

 

We were up on that ridge coming from the left to the right... To get sunrise from ontop of The Tooth.

 

Needless to say... When I went back in 1986... I had my aluminum pack frame wrapped in electrical tape... Hockey stick style... LoL... Not sure if that would help, but one wrap of tape does insulate 600v... Which I still would be toast... But it made for nice convo why my frame was wrapped!

 

I should digitize my prints/pics of that trek, sunrise, etc...

 

 

 

[Gugny]

There was this one?  It had a lot of wind?  And a lot of thunder?  And a lot of rain?  And there was lightning?

 

Yeah.  That was bad.

[Turk71]

During the blizzard of 77 my friends and I

walked 4 blocks from my house to another friend's house through complete whiteout 60 or 70 mph winds. You could not see your hand in front of your face. We made our way down the street from parked car to parked car sometimes missing and walking into trees. We checked every car and if it was open we would get in and regroup, it was so disorienting I will never forget it. It must have taken us over 2 hours to walk 4 blocks.

  My friends and I weren't thieves and were not in the habit of getting in strangers cars, but this was survival.

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

15 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

During the blizzard of 77 my friends and I

walked 4 blocks from my house to another friend's house through complete whiteout 60 or 70 mph winds. You could not see your hand in front of your face. We made our way down the street from parked car to parked car sometimes missing and walking into trees. We checked every car and if it was open we would get in and regroup, it was so disorienting I will never forget it. It must have taken us over 2 hours to walk 4 blocks.

  My friends and I weren't thieves and were not in the habit of getting in strangers cars, but this was survival.

 

Thunder Snow!!!!

 

Probably not during Blizz'77... But that opens up possibilities for this thread!!!

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

38 minutes ago, Gugny said:

There was this one?  It had a lot of wind?  And a lot of thunder?  And a lot of rain?  And there was lightning?

 

Yeah.  That was bad.

Were you in band camp?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

2 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  You are thinking about Hurricane Agnes back in 1972 when you refer to Elmira.  Yep, a lot of those rivers look like nothing until a storm drops several inches over a wide area there.  The Susquehanna River at Waverly, NY you can just about walk across most days and not get your shorts damp unless a lot of rain has fallen.  

Mount Morris Dam on the Genesee River, at the north end of Letchworth State Park, came very close to overflowing.

41 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Thunder Snow!!!!

 

Probably not during Blizz'77... But that opens up possibilities for this thread!!!

 

 

Quite common in lake effect snowstorms around here (WNY/Southern Ontario) in late fall and early winter.

[ExiledInIllinois]

18 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Mount Morris Dam on the Genesee River, at the north end of Letchworth State Park, came very close to overflowing.

Quite common in lake effect snowstorms around here (WNY/Southern Ontario) in late fall and early winter.

There is an emergency spillway. Just happens to be right in middle of dam... What it's designed to do:

 

 

Edit:

Upon closer inspection, there seems to be some sort of concrete raceways to the east, probably for nornal flow release...?? Control...

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by ExiledInIllinois

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

6 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

There is an emergency spillway. Just happens to be right in middle of dam... What it's designed to do:

 

 

 

 

My father hauled steel used in the making of that dam.  They would secure the tractor trailers to bulldozers and slowly make their way down the steep construction roads to the riverbed elevation to be unloaded.

[Boca BIlls]

Lightning Bolt struck a tree next to my window blew the window out. The thunderstorms lasted almost 3 hours, I never seen anything like it before. This was about 10 years ago when I lived in Jersey.