Beaufort Wind Scale
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html
caution for me is Near Gale
Strong Gale and I'm stayin home.
Beaufort Wind Scale
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html
caution for me is Near Gale
Strong Gale and I'm stayin home.
- Loki my videos
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." — John Muir
Like I missed out on a good night of hammock glory i.e. Not a single trace of branches blown down.
It's a good question. I've been out with a group where in the middle of the night you could hear the wind rolling in like a freight train and then my hammock would lift up and then I'd hear it rolling in again. This went on for what seemed like hours but was probably less. Ferret was in the group and once it lifted him so high his reaction was "GOOD LORD!" Makes for an interesting night. Years ago at the Linville Gorge hang the wind was blowing so hard I left my hammock and slept in the back of the truck which has a camper top. This was more to dull the noise it was so loud.
Once you are out in something like this during a backpacking trip, I don't know what you can do except ride it out unless you are near a shelter or other structure that might be safer. This is why I take an unusually long time setting up -- trying to find the safest set of trees.
Last edited by HappyCamper; 09-30-2014 at 10:22.
Exercise, eat right, die anyway -- Country Roads bumper sticker
Fall seven times, standup eight. -- Japanese Proverb
After 3 strong pickled onions and a whole can of baked beans, wind can be very dangerous. You should avoid poorly ventilated tarps, and take particular care around campfires.
Last edited by genixia; 09-30-2014 at 16:35.
I have had a couple good nights with high winds and one with sideways rain. The worst part for sure is the noise. It isn't reassuring to hear all that racket and not know what on earth is going on outside.
There certainly is a danger, but that hasn't stopped me from going out. I did get a bit of a surprise on one trip when a thunderstorm blew through with 60+ mph winds ("Storm" on Beaufort), on a night when I was camped out on a very exposed peninsula on a lake. In retrospect, it was nice being in a relatively open spot, because that meant fewer of the trees that were crashing down were close to me. My advice generally is you can stay cozy in your hammock until you hear those crashes, and as they're coming down it's smart to put on your raingear and stand nearish to one of the trees you were hanging from, facing upwind. Far enough away that lighting won't want to go through you, but close enough that it will help protect you from falling trees still, and facing upwind to see the falling ones coming so you can dodge if necessary.
It depends on the conditions you're in. Some of the parks were closed around here after persistent rain and flooding because the ground was saturated, which greatly increases the chances of trees falling in high winds (> 50mph). If I were in winds in excess of 50mph, I don't think I'd camp near deciduous trees that have large limbs. That's not just because those trees present a much greater wind profile and, therefore, more torque. There's also a good chance a limb will break off.
Conifers are usually much more resistant to wind and aren't likely to blow over unless their root system is compromised like when there is highly saturated ground, stream undercutting, things like that.
There are many factors that can affect risk from high winds. If you're not sure, you might want to contact a park ranger and ask them about it. Most them have been around enough to see the outcome of high wind related injuries so they can give you a pretty good idea of what's risky and what's not.
“I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dropped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity.” -Hazel Lee
That campsite is rarely used now that the lean-to has been built. Good evidence of how lean-tos actually help protect the more fragile areas right near the water by focusing the damage in the area immediately surrounding the lean-to.
Hope we can camp together soon buddy. Coming to Wakely this weekend?
"There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
My Trail log: http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com/
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