powderfreak Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Same here Scott, steep terrain drains quickly and violently. I was blown away by the severity of the flooding here. Tough to say this storm was overhyped with such a swath of destruction. The winds were definitely over-forecast pretty much across all of New England. Zone forecasts were calling for sustained 40-60mph with gusts to 80mph in the BOX CWA and up here our zones had sustained 30-50mph with gusts to 70mph. The only areas that saw winds of those speeds up here were above 2,000ft. It must be incredibly difficult to get sustained winds of 50mph or higher... of course some areas can gust to 50-70mph but getting that to sustain itself is pretty darn tough. The flooding was almost under-hyped though... people are so fascinated with wind that they forget what actually causes billions of dollars of damage. Wind doesn't rip apart miles of roadways, bridges, and other infrastructure. A tree falls, just take out your chainsaw. Its a different story if the only way to access your town is via helicopter. At least at Bartonsville Covered Bridge it worst flood since at least 1870 based on this clip of it's destruction That is crazy... the power of swift moving fresh water is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 The winds were definitely over-forecast pretty much across all of New England. Zone forecasts were calling for sustained 40-60mph with gusts to 80mph in the BOX CWA and up here our zones had sustained 30-50mph with gusts to 70mph. The only areas that saw winds of those speeds up here were above 2,000ft. It must be incredibly difficult to get sustained winds of 50mph or higher... of course some areas can gust to 50-70mph but getting that to sustain itself is pretty darn tough. The flooding was almost under-hyped though... people are so fascinated with wind that they forget what actually causes billions of dollars of damage. Wind doesn't rip apart miles of roadways, bridges, and other infrastructure. A tree falls, just take out your chainsaw. Its a different story if the only way to access your town is via helicopter. That is crazy... the power of swift moving fresh water is amazing. Well, while I had only garden variety gusts (40mph) the fact that the forecast was so dire spurred me to take extra steps to be prepared for the worst. I'm not going to find fault with forecasters over the fact that one aspect of the storm didn't pan out. The 10" of rain that fell here was well forecast and the local emergency management coordinators did a great job based in part on the forecast. Quite an amazing scene still unfolding from here up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 A couple of pictures of our golf course in Northfield, VT Looking at the 2nd green where 1 of our 5 bridges used to be. We lost all 5 nand the river crossings went from about 30 feet to about 100 feet. The 2nd green. Damn shame, looks like a nice course, hope you get it put back together soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Powderfreak, do people up there think this is as bad as 1927? Not sure if you are familiar with it. Over 1000 bridges destroyed, lieutenant Governor killed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Pete, how are your neighbors? My family in SRI will be at their hotel until power comes back, but no damage at their house on Narr Bay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Well, while I had only garden variety gusts (40mph) the fact that the forecast was so dire spurred me to take extra steps to be prepared for the worst. I'm not going to find fault with forecasters over the fact that one aspect of the storm didn't pan out. The 10" of rain that fell here was well forecast and the local emergency management coordinators did a great job based in part on the forecast. Quite an amazing scene still unfolding from here up to you. Oh I'm not faulting the forecasters at all... the models were all showing it so its hard to go against that. With that said, it almost always seems that the strongest winds stay just off the deck, leaving garden variety windy conditions but nothing we can't see in a winter storm. Still, you could see by looking at the radar VADs across the northeast yesterday, winds were roughly 30% stronger just 1,000-2,000ft off the deck. Heck, BTV was seeing gusts to 45-50mph but the VAD was showing 65-75kts at 2,000ft. Had those winds hit the surface with any sustainability it would've been devastating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Torchey Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Pete, how are your neighbors? My family in SRI will be at their hotel until power comes back, but no damage at their house on Narr Bay Great news Dave! Damage here is unbelievable at the beach, just now getting some photos out of the areas which are still cut off, glad to hear the familia is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Powderfreak, do people up there think this is as bad as 1927? Not sure if you are familiar with it. Over 1000 bridges destroyed, lieutenant Governor killed... I'm not really versed in the damage from that... I do know in the town of Stowe we hit the 1927 water level back in April during an extreme flash flood event (4" in 5 hours on top of significant snowpack). That did some significant damage to town and I actually think that might have been a worse event locally than yesterday... but yesterday's water levels were close. I think as a state on the whole, this was the worst anyone can remember from talking with long-time Vermonters. The April event in Stowe was a more isolated event due to thunderstorms over Mansfield and town, mixed with snowmelt to cause prolific flash flooding. This will be remembered as more of a state wide devastating event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Pete, how are your neighbors? My family in SRI will be at their hotel until power comes back, but no damage at their house on Narr Bay Everybody is ok. Tough old birds. They were out cleaning up all day as the waters receded. Some tense moments yesterday as the water came up quickly. Really glad it stopped raining when it did. For a few hours it just pounded rain, like the height of a thunderstorm but for a long duration. everything in the lower part of the woodshop was ruined or swept away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Just a little too rough to kayak. Instant death. The roar rattled my windows through the night last night. Today was better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Powderfreak, do people up there think this is as bad as 1927? Not sure if you are familiar with it. Over 1000 bridges destroyed, lieutenant Governor killed... Well, the Lt. Gov survived this time! I'm not sure that the 1000 bridge mark will be hit but the number will be high. Within a mile of my golf course on Rt. 12A there were at least 3 totally destroyed and a 4th that has some serious damage to the decking . Most of these are not real big bridges but they are enough to shut down access to large areas. I was thinking about 1927 and how lucky we got this time because of the flood control damns built in 1927's aftermath. I can't imagine what would have happened if all that water that got contained was added to the flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Well, the Lt. Gov survived this time! I'm not sure that the 1000 bridge mark will be hit but the number will be high. Within a mile of my golf course on Rt. 12A there were at least 3 totally destroyed and a 4th that has some serious damage to the decking . Most of these are not real big bridges but they are enough to shut down access to large areas. I was thinking about 1927 and how lucky we got this time because of the flood control damns built in 1927's aftermath. I can't imagine what would have happened if all that water that got contained was added to the flow. Amazing, heartbreaking videos have been on the news and online... Just a little rain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Great news Dave! Damage here is unbelievable at the beach, just now getting some photos out of the areas which are still cut off, glad to hear the familia is good! Actually, spoke to my brother again, their power is back, no water, freezer in basement still below freezing, but they are staying in the hotel again because it is nice (and paid for!) They said Jamestown did not look bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Torchey Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 Man, what horrible flooding, thoughts go out to all up north! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Ludlow, VT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Shelburne, MA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 More Shelburne Falls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Angry Deerfield River Shelburne Falls, Ma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Storm surge at Misquamicut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherMA Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Wow, MPM could have quite the stories when his power gets back. That is unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 More Misquamicut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Queechee, VT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Vermont...disaster Bennington http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8zZLyct_D8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Green River down the street from my house. I walk this route several times a week with the dog and the area I was standing on to take the picture had suffered major erosion. Probably lost 2-3' of land. It's about 60' vertical down to the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski MRG Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Nice pics Chris, the angry Deerfield shots are great. We just strolled across the bridge of flowers about 2 weeks ago when we had out of town guests. Glad it survived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free_man Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Angry Deerfield River Shelburne Falls, Ma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Yeah, that first shot of the angry Deerfield is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Spotty cell phone, got my electrical service put back on the house, roofer says all new roof needed,3-4 weeks before town has electricity, devastation in areas, thinking tornado in worst areas as there are twisted trees facing circular directions, saw a corn field in Voluntown from an elevated area with distinct circular pattern, cool stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Anyone see the first block NBC nightly news tonight? The damage in ct and vt is heartbreaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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