Wind Safety
Pleasant breezes can turn into wind events quickly. Know your warnings and how to get weather updates through local News Station Weather Apps, Social Media and NOAA Weather Radio. Know your fire hazards with Fall Wind Advisories in your local area as well. Knowing when to burn could prevent a forest fire.
HIGH WIND ADVISORY will be issued when the potential for high winds and life threatening conditions are highly likely. Take precaution to get away from debris that can be blown around or fall down. Protect yourselves and your loved ones by getting indoors to avoid the harmful potential of high winds.
HIGH WIND WATCH will be issued when there is a possibility of conditions to be extremely windy and may cause the potential of damage and power outages soon. Take precautions to get yourself ready for winds to potentially reach high levels and a High Wind Warning to be issued. Put out any outdoor fires, gather up any items that could become projectiles and take shelter.
HIGH WIND WARNING will be issued when winds are escalating and are high enough to cause damage, possible power outages and trouble moving freely outdoors. Taking cover and getting indoors is recommended. Winds can be high enough to knock over trees, people and structures. Loose items will become projectiles and can cause loss of life. Take shelter immediately indoors.
What other kinds of winds can create damage or challenges that could be dangerous? There are several that you will want to be prepared for as best you can in the moment that they are occurring.
Derechos and Straight-Line winds are winds that can climb to 125 miles per hour and leave a path of destruction. As experienced in late June 2012 and again in June 2013, derechos can pop up as air masses combine to cause almost immediate destruction, power outages and loss of life. Though you may have little or no warning of these types of systems, you will want to act quickly when one does appear.
Quick thinking and gathering up potential projectiles like flags, bird feeders, deck umbrellas and pushing deck furniture to the wall area can prevent a lot of damage. Keeping your outdoor trees near your home trimmed can also help protect you during these types of wind events. A derecho has straight line winds that much like a tornado will cause miles wide of destruction in minutes. Be prepared this fall and know your plan of action!
Storm Systems with high winds are likely to also pop up out of nowhere due to the seasonal change of temperatures and high and low pressure systems colliding. Watching your local weather and listening to your weather predictions can keep you alert and safe! Fall storms can take down trees in rain saturated areas easily and cause mass power outages. If you are driving, watch for fallen electrical lines in your pathway. Do not drive over fallen lines, stop and call the authorities and turn around!
The high immediate strong winds of these storm systems can cause larger vehicles on the highway to tip over, coast into other lanes and crash. Be aware of your surroundings if you are driving during a storm system event, or simply pull over and keep your eyes open for flying debris. Whether you continue to drive on the roadway or pull over, be a prudent driver and watch out for others. Two hands on the wheel! Turn on your flashers and watch for drivers continuing to drive. Do NOT pull under bridges and underpasses, as these create a tunnel affect and may be one of the worst places for you to stop.
Plan ahead so you can stay safe! If you rehearse what you will do in specific circumstances, you will be better prepared. Driving down the road, talk out your emergency wind plan with your family. Sitting in the Family Room on Sunday afternoon watching the game or a movie? Ask your family what the emergency plan for wind events is. When you prepare your family and rehearse your plans verbally as a family, you are preparing the future generation to be ready as well. Good habits start early! Be a good role model and ask often what your family would do in case of an emergency.
Hale’s Electrical Service is on a mission to empower others to be better prepared when the weather is bad so you can better CONTROL YOUR POWER! It’s within your reach! Share your plan with your family and friends! Together we can make our communities and country better prepared with common sense plans to weather any storm! Share your tips with us here! Post your ideas on our Social Media pages!
