Category 5 Storm

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
B

Bill V

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2001
Messages
4,200
Reaction score
2
Location
Brooklyn Park, MN
Had to pass this email I received along...







North Dakota News

This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota after the recent snow storm.



WEATHER BULLETIN



Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event --- may I even say a Weather Event of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to tens of thousands.



FYI:

* George Bush did not come....

* FEMA did nothing....

* No one howled for the government...

* No one blamed the government

* No one even uttered an expletive on TV...

* Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit

* Our mayors did not blame Bush or anyone else

* Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either

* CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm

* Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....

* No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....

* No one looted....

* Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something

* Nobody expected the government to do anything either

* No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera

* No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found

* No Budweiser trucks full of water, we just melted the snow for water

* Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars

* The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny

* Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families

* Families took in the stranded people - total strangers

* We Fired up wood stoves

* Broke out coal oil lanterns or coleman lanterns

* We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"

* We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.

* Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.



"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% most of the world's social problems evaporate."



Merry Christmas

And

Happy New Year
 
You really can't compare snowstorms that get cleared in a few days to the hurricane which destroyed TONS of lives forever......





Every year we get a major storm here in upstate NY but we are prepared for it. You sit at home for a few days and they clear the roads.....things get back to normal.
 
Ummm, I live on the border of North Dakota, in Minnesota. The storm they had recently left people up here without power, for up to 10 days or more. It's kinda cold up here this time of the year, and hard to heat your home without electricity.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fmarano, I can see how the storms in upstate NY, even the "major" ones, might lead you to think that there's no comparison between a snowstorm and a hurricane.



Believe me, for this one, the comparison was more accurate than you think. I've driven through the area that got hit, and it was hit hard. When it snows in NY, you typically don't get the surface wind--there's enough variation in elevation and tree coverage to knock it down. In North Dakota, there's no change in elevation, and nearly no trees--so the wind just blows through and gathers strength--as mentioned in the article, there were tons of buildings down, as well as what few trees there were. Also, New York state never gets dangerously cold--your climate is moderated by the Atlantic. No such luck here--the temperature drop that invariably follows a storm like this is lethal.



The Gulf Coast may be wet--but no one there is going to freeze to death from the storm.



After driving through that stretch of ND, I'm glad to live in the warmth and comfort of the Twin Cities.
 
Ski, I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but here it goes.....



It's difficult to compare ice storms, blizzards and the like to a hurricanes and tropical disturbances. Yes, power may have been out for 10 days and it was cold - it sucks I agree. However, last year we got nailed with the eye wall of Charlie, grazed by the eyewall of Frances and Gene took a week just to pass. We lost power for about 3 weeks total and it was in the upper 90's the ENTIRE time with 100% humidity. Try sleeping in that.......with no power for a fan or A/C. At least if it's cold you can bundle. Try spending the whole day outside because their was a slight chance for a breeze while you spent HOURS and countless numbers of chain saw blades trying to cut through the 2 ft. thick oak trees that had fallen all over your house and property, only stopping to try and find some shade under the lucky tree that didn't fall and drink some warm water because there was no ice. I'd take an icestorm or blizzard any day over that. I realize different locations have their benefits and downfalls, and I realize I could get out if I really wanted to, but if you know the dangers of living in an area like FL or deep-woods SD you should know how to deal with anything that mother nature throws your way.
 
Too cold to loot.



Also hard to run in 3ft + of snow.....



I know what you are saying. I live in an area that gets over 500" of snow over the course of the winter. Probably 7-10 times per year, I call into work and let them know I am snowed in.



We get storms up here that will shut down the entire area for a few days...even a week or more. No one ever shows up to do anything, and we never have any problems..other than idiot drivers.



Thats why I have a couple of solar panels, and a pot belly stove in the kitchen.
 
Bill V - You say people don't freeze to death from a storm, but they do die from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Just as much a chance as freezing to death - build a fire or put on some more clothes. Ice is actually an insulator as well - dig a cave (the eskimos do).
 
The fedral government was not and is not there to be first responder to disaster...

I dont like big brother telling me how to live and I dont want hand outs at the exspense of freedoms that you will give up to big brother...Too much control already...
 
...and this is Paul Harvey, saying...good day.:lol:



There are pros and cons either way, but a completely different group of people move north versus south.



It always irked me growing up when people, who paid extra to build their house on the bank of a river, complained when the river flooded their house. Did they actually think the river was going to just stop doing that?



There is risk, regardless of where you live, but the key is to take responsibility for your choice.
 
Jenn D.

Yes, it can be hard to compare the difficulties that come with a "ice storm" in North Dakota, and a hurricane in Florida. Now, I personally have not been through a hurrican in Florida, but I have been through a typhoon in Guam. Not a little one either. They called it, Super Typhoon Ponsonga. When the wind meter broke at about 220 miles per hour, they were having gusts up to 250 miles per hour. This went on for over 14 hours. When the storm ended, we had no power,or water. For those who might not know about Guam, it's a bit warm there, being that it is situated 14 degrees above the equator. But now I live in the Red River Valley, and if you have ever felt the wind up here, it goes right though you. As far as building an igloo, kinda hard to do in ice storms, since everything turns into a sheet of ice. Either way, it's just not fun. And I'm not trying to be a jerk either. :rolleyes:

 
I guess the lesson learned here is when you live in storm-prone areas, whether it be the cold plains of North Dakota or the coastal areas of the SE, you should expect to receive nature's wrath. We do the same here every spring during tornado season, and I don't expect a nickle from Uncle Sam.
 
I agree Darin. We asked for NOTHING from FEMA after all of those hurricanes last year and I know a LOT of people who shouldn't have, but did. The bottom line is I feel better knowing I can take care of myself.



Ski - point taken and thank you for listening to mine. For some reason, probably bitterness from losing three weeks of sleep (as I mentioned in my post, and you may know, it's not easy to sleep in those conditions) and having to see how this sort of stuff brings out the complainer in people, it is a little trying. Like Darin said, get used to it or get out.



Personally, it may suck here during that time of year, but I still love it. And when I start to get sick of it, I'll move. Plain and simple. I doubt it will happen though since I was born and raised here and have experienced all that FL's nature has to offer.



BTW: Hurricanes are good in one aspect......the fishing is great before and after
 
I think the people from Phoenix are laughing at this thread.



BTW, I have been through some horrific ice storms causing 100s of millions of dollars in damages and dozens of deaths. They aren't fun either.



TJR
 
Jenn--I think I may have overstated what I was trying to say, and in doing so, distracted from the actual point. I'll agree that this storm in North Dakota wasn't on the scale of Katrina. So that's probably not the best comparison point.



But I've been through a couple of hurricanes in Florida, and know that it was on a scale with them. The biggest difference was the response: When those hurricanes came through, everyone who had even slight damage was looking to FEMA, or other government aid. And all the media was there to cover it nationally. Anyone who had even a slight inconvenience in getting their government handout was looking for a TV camera to talk at. Whereas the people in North Dakota simply sucked it up, helped their neighbors, and did what they needed to do to survive--without requesting government assistance, and in such a modest way that most of America wasn't even aware that such a storm had hit. That's the point that this is making.



As to your ridiculous claim that it's so difficult to sleep in your temps/humidity, but here we can just bundle up--When the air temp is 20 below zero, and there is a strong wind chill on top of that, you can't "just bundle up", unless you want to be in the morgue the next day (or whenever it is that crews can get out to you). It's not just a matter of losing sleep because it happens to be warm.



I'd invite you to visit North Dakota some time in January to experience it first hand--but with the winter survival skills you've displayed in some of your emails, I'm afraid you might be dead before the plane landed, and I wouldn't want that. :)



 
I'm born and raised in Georgia. Our idea of bad weather is 1 snow flake. They will close the schools if it rains hard enough down here. I give you guys credit for dealing with all the snow and ice. It happened here like twice in my lifetime and all I can remember is people going nuts to buy water and crap when it's gonna be below 32. Today our high is 65. It is a little breezy though. Moral of the story is: If you don't like snow, don't live in a cold climate. If you don't like hurricanes, don't move to the beach. (New Orleans is a different story all together, My heart goes out to anyone affected)
 
The New Orleans moral would be: "If you live below sea-level, don't skimp on the levee."



It was quite a tragedy, however, to find that out the hard way. Pity, too, because I don't think New Orleans will ever be the same.
 
I did some research. The storm you all are talking about is not 100% true. The was up to 25 inches of snow and winds up to 50 mph. FEMa was there for a small while. Also, this happened in Nov. of 2005. So what's the big fuss. :unsure:
 
People think that just because they are in a situation that seems very unbareable that they have it sooo bad and nothing that happens anywhere else is as bad as what they are going thru. I'm sure that hurricanes are very very terrible to endure but just because you aren't in a snow storm that dumps almost 4 ft. of snow and packs tropical storm force winds(which you should know about) doesn't mean that what they are going thru isn't just as terrible. I live in west central Illinois and it gets pretty cold, and the wind blows pretty hard here and we get snow also, but nothing like 44in. w/90 mph winds. I know everything would shut down completely if that happened here. We also get tornadoes here and they can do just as much damage as a hurricane in alot less time.

My point---wherever you live you are gonna have enviromental conditions that are very hard to deal with but thats what you do, deal with them.
 
Some of y'all are missing the point. It's about taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Snowstorms and hurricanes happen - with regularity. With today's weather forecasting technology, these storms don't sneak up and surprise anybody. And, guess what? Each type of storm happens every year about the same time. Up North, it's gonna snow sideways, and down South, it's gonna rain sideways.



So why is it that of the people who're going to stick around and ride out those storms, some of them figure out that they need to be ready for them, and some people never figure it out? It's because some have taken PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and some have not. Those who have taken no PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY are blinded to their lack of ownership and have to find somebody responsible for their problems. So it must be the Government's fault!
 
New Orleans has more problems then most. Namely a lame duck local and state government, which leads them to rely more on federal assistance then most people. There problem stems from taking no action years befofe the storm.



[Broken External Image]:
 

Latest posts

Top