On Thursday, April 9, came the first warnings of a serious wind storm to hit 4 days hence, on Monday, yesterday. By Friday wind gust projections for the storm were estimated to hit 70 mph. By Sunday the forecasts were calling for gusts reaching 74 mph. Having 5 tall dead ash trees, within range of hitting our house when they fall, on an adjoining property, our concern level was high, and we tried to prepare for the worst. Monday morning the maximum wind gusts projections had been lowered to 60 mph, but sustained winds over a long period of the day were still expected.
Throughout the day, checking various weather sources, the timing for peak winds became a moving target, and by early afternoon the weather warnings became weather watches. At worst, the weather that transpired yesterday could be described as breezy, but the strong winds and sustained winds never materialized. Happily the day passed with no weather threats. Outside of Seneca, SC, my sister and brother-in-law spent their day helping nearby neighbors and businesses recover from a tornado that hit early Monday morning. We can only be grateful that yesterday’s storm turned out to be a non-event.
So what happened to our forecasted wind storm? Forecasters may disagree, but here’s my take. The storm was bad throughout the south and northeast, leaving serious damage, and unfortunately, considerable loss of life. But, as seems to me, as often happens, when the storm arrived at Lake Erie, the lake made it’s own modifications, altering the wind strength, the wind direction, and delivering to us something much different and much friendlier than what otherwise would have been. The Great Lakes, which can be such a pest in winter time, once again took control of a weather system and turned it into something else. It’s happened with other storms, we all know that Erie and Ontario are weather makers, but it seems that local forecasters sometimes fail to take into account the influence of the lakes on a storm rising from the south.
This brings me to a point that I often think about those lakes. In the winter they can be an adversary, but otherwise, they tend to moderate the weather for us in a most positive and friendly way. Thanks for the help yesterday, Lake Erie.
