I’m sure you’ve heard about the strange weather happenings around the world as of late, and surely you’ve been either had snow in an area that normally doesn’t receive it or excess rain. I’ve realized that I’m very close to some of these happenings and to tell you the truth I’m heartbroken. The south hasn’t been dealt good cards for the past 7 months or so, first getting hammered by an excessively brutal winter resulting in snow large amounts of snow, freezing temperatures rendering the cities and areas impassable, for days at a time. Due to this cold winter, the massive amount of excess snow, and the heavy rains that followed managed to swell many of the rivers causing extreme flooding destroying communities, residents losing personal possessions, and a long process to rebuild from the extreme amounts of damage. Mother Nature is pissed, and I’m passing through the areas that were hit in April by a series of a hundred or more Tornado’s that came out of the blue.
These are all new things to me, where in the west coast of Canada we need to worry about the odd earthquake every once in a while, which usually happens deep in the sea and doesn’t affect our infrastructure in the slightest. Experts have been saying for years that we are in for a major shift in the earth’s plates at some point in the near future, and I can’t even imagine what would happen to our beautiful areas turning into rubble. Even worse, we have an active Volcano to the south of us (Mount Baker) which is sure to activate at the same time spewing lava and ash over both the USA and Canada. It seems these natural disasters are happening at a faster frequency than in the past and while some may have all sorts of conspiracy theories to go along with them it leaves a trail of death and destruction that changes landscapes, communities, and way of life for thousands if not millions of people.
I’ve entered into Tornado Valley – Alabama and Mississippi are known for their powerful storms yearly, yet this year were hit extra hard. A tornado is an isolated storm event which almost always forms ahead of a front. Certain storm clouds begin to strengthen into ‘super cells’, and the collision between the high pressure and low pressure systems causes the winds to circulate around each other. While the storms along the front and the super cells appear on radar, tornados are rarely spotted until they’ve formed at least a measurable circulation of air. Tornadoes can form quickly, touch down for a few minutes and then spin back into the super cell. They may also remain on the ground, generating winds up to 250+ miles per hour, and cover a large swath of land.
How things work in the South
These are different from Hurricanes – which I seemed to have missed enroute to Newfoundland as well in 2010, are systems within themselves. A hurricanes entire system forms from a low pressure system generally located in the tropics. The heated ocean water serves as fuel for the cloud formations, which slowly begin to form bands of rain clouds around the center of the low pressure. Pushed further into the ocean by prevailing winds and the jet stream, a potential hurricane begins as a ‘wave’, then a ‘depression’, followed by ‘storm’ when the sustained winds are between 39 and 74 miles per hour. By this point, national meteorologists usually assigned a specified name to the system, following an alphabetical progression. The first named tropical storm or hurricane begins with A, the second with B and so on. Once the sustained winds reach 75 miles per hour, the storm is officially a hurricane. Unlike a tornado, the formation of a hurricane can be detected early and precisely measured throughout its life.
Was a gas station
Tornados in general can generate much stronger winds than hurricanes, but do not last nearly as long. The damage from an average tornado is limited to the actual path a funnel cloud took during the limited time it touched the ground. The accompanying storm may cause additional damage through lightning strikes or heavy rain, but the tornado itself causes the most trouble. Hurricanes pack high winds and tremendous rains, but the long-term damage is often caused by the floods which proceed it. Hurricanes force the ocean water ahead of them to build into high waves known as ‘storm surges’. Combined with the natural high tides, these surges can overwhelm coastal areas and cause widespread power outages and flooding. Tornadoes do not generate storm surges, but large hail may be a secondary problem victims face.
Was the general store
Tornadoes are measured by the Fujita scale- a system which assigns levels of destructive power based on post-storm assessments. This scale runs from an F-0 storm which causes little to no measurable damage all the way to an F-5 which can completely eliminate all structures in its path. Most tornadoes are in the F-1 to F-3 range, but these measurements are generally assessed AFTER the event. Estimating the power of a tornado while it is occurring can be very difficult.
Hurricanes are measured by category. Once the winds become higher than 75 miles per hour, the hurricane is considered to be a Category 1 storm. The highest category is 5, which generally occurs while the hurricane is over open water. Once a hurricane reaches a land mass, the energy of the heated ocean water is cut off and the ‘engine’ will begin to sputter. Depending on the size and stability of the hurricane, it can last for days or weeks. Tornadoes rarely last more than a few hours.
Tornadoes form over land, so they are not dependent on water for fuel. They exist only as long as the colliding fronts remain unstable enough for circulation to occur. Once the storm clouds lose their momentum, the possibility of a regeneration become minimal. Hurricanes, on the other hand, form over water and are dependent on the evaporating water vapour for fuel. They may weaken over land temporarily, but they will often restrengthen once they are back over water. A hurricane system can last as long as the low pressure center remains strong and a larger system doesn’t shear it apart.
Perhaps the most important difference between hurricanes and tornadoes are the safety warnings. Tornadoes can form within minutes and a tornado warning may only be issued after the fact. Hurricanes have loosely defined courses which they will follow unless acted upon by a stronger force. This means that residents in the path of a major hurricane can be warned several days ahead of the storm’s arrival. Specific details such as storm strength and general direction can be provided right up until the moment a hurricane makes landfall. Tornado signatures on radar can predict the general path of a tornadic storm, but specific details can be few and far between until the storm is already on the ground.
As I rode through North-western Alabama I started to notice areas where trees had fallen, and patches of rubble along sides of the roads not thinking too much about it until at the end of my first full riding day that I stopped in Mount Hope. I had been riding along the back roads completely lost trying to find a way to continue southwest towards New Orleans, Louisiana when I spied a van from their local church passing me. Knowing that it would be close by and probably a good place to stock up on supplies, but more importantly water – as it’s incredibly hot and humid lately. I feel like I’m going to pass out on a regular basis and have to make sure that I find shade often and continue to hydrate myself. I’m still not drinking enough water as I urinate only once or twice a day, and should be doing this every hour or more. I finally made it into the town limits and started noticing that there was little to no shops standing, any gas stations that were in the area were now piles of rubble, with their pumps still standing and odd pieces of signage hanging haphazardly. Gaping holes where huge trees once stood made the area where corn, cotton, and wheat grew made it look like it was a landmine testing field. I found the church that was advertised on the side of the van and was quite surprised to see its parking lot packed on a Wednesday night – It’s Vacation Bible School time, and I wondered if I should be bothering them as I was looking for a place to spend the night. I quickly met some of the people standing outside who directed me over to the Pastor who without hesitation said I would be able to stay in the back area. It wasn’t long after that when I met some of the people inside the large community area who fixed me up 3 plates of food and a huge glass of juice to aid in hydrating me from a long sweaty day. I took the time to speak to a half dozen people about what happened in the area – most residents lost pieces of their home, 5 people lost their lives entirely, and they are just getting back to normal again after a long series of disaster relief. They spoke with great detail about the time leading up to the deadly tornado that ripped their pockets of land apart and tears welled up in my eyes as they explained to me all the things they had lost, and how the surrounding communities had banded together for the relief effort. Makeshift sleep areas were setup in the Churches (there are 3 – population 250), A Command centre was setup to distribute food, clothes and toiletries to those who had suffered losses, and the school had converted into a kitchen to feed all the residents who didn’t have power or communications for nearly a week afterwards. There has been a great clean-up effort daily to get things back to normal but one can still see the path of destruction that occurred – since Tornado’s don’t follow a clear path it certainly could have been worse – but this was bad enough. Every person who was in this church took the time to make contact with me, some shaking my hand, some saying they were blessed to have someone from as far as I have come to come and visit them, and related my entrance to things starting to become positive for them. It hasn’t been easy getting over the disaster, their crops are all dead from the heat wave – they haven’t had any rain since the Tornado came through and everything is brown, dying and entire crops – their lifeblood are destroyed for the year. As I pitched my tent the dark clouds started rolling in and I witnessed the most extreme lightning storm I’ve ever encountered in my life – lightning bolts 5 at a time coming down and connecting together in rapid succession over and over again started a panic between the people, many headed home early, while some offered solace for me if things were to get worse. I told them that to take care of themselves first, but if they heard something strange coming to alert me as best as they can – I’m ok with sleeping in my tent, considering I have a covered garage over me, yet the wind picked up something fierce and moved my tent over 20 feet away, spraying the inside contents far and wide. They left an air conditioned room open in the church for me should it get worse. Further into Alabama I witnessed cities that have been turned into complete rubble from the tornados that ravaged the area with little notice. Geiger, close to the Mississippi border was hit on April 15th, destroying one half of the town before round 2 on the 27th of April took out the rest of it. There’s no services left, groceries, gas, nothing – It is a real struggle for the people to be able to survive.
Mt Hope Food Offerings
Mississippi was hit hard as well, although I didn’t get the opportunity to pass through any of these areas, and to be honest I don’t think I have the stomach for it. Each persons stories are incredibly gut wrenching, and I’d just like to give each and every one of them a hug – letting them know everything will be alright. Reconstruction is certainly under way, communities reforming, and economy starting to spark once more hopefully fortifying the infrastructure so that if another series of storms passes through they can withstand the force. Mississippi also has had other issues recently – flooding of the river has destroyed entire communities in fear of flooding another storm ravaged city already hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans in 2004.
Mississippi has some of the nicest scenery out of all the states I have visited yet – Roads are clean (thanks to inmate work programs, farmers fields are green with an abundance of life, and the amount of trees is staggering to see. This has to be one of the prettiest places I have visited in 2011. I’ll only have a few more days left in this state before crossing into Louisiana before heading west, hoping to be in the Austin Texas area for Independence Day, July 4. Hope to have a better update in a few days – this post was written over the course of a few days due to crazy riding conditions, lack of internet, and extreme heat. We’re well over the 100 degree range now, and liquids are becoming an issue – 2.5 gallons a day of water intake still isn’t cutting it – I’m sunburnt all over the place, and covered in bug bites. It’s extreme conditions, but that’s what I’m after. While it may sound like I’m complaining, I’m loving the adventure and wouldn’t change it for the world!
