Worst Severe Storm To Hit Your Area, What is the worst storm to strike your area Options

[ktbug23]

the worst storm that I remember was the Super Tuesday Outbreak 2008 and the Mother's Day 2008 storms. they were downright awful.

[davidals]

As for North Carolina in general:

Hurricane Floyd in 1999

3-28-84 Tornado outbreak

12-3-02 ice storm

3-1/2-80 snowstorm

Those are some of the most notorious during my lifetime.

Going back a bit further:

Hurricane Hazel in 1954

The Enigma tornado outbreak Feb 19/20, 1884

At a more local level, apart from any of the above storms:

Tornadoes which struck Winston-Salem (F3, 5-5-89), Raleigh (F4, 11-29-88), Murphy (F4, 4-3-74, part of the Super Outbreak), Fayetteville (F3, 2-22-71), and Greensboro (F4 est, 4-2-36) were all enormously destructive, and are rather well-documented.

[enigmamj]

Here in the Richmond Va area a couple storms obviously come to mind. Hurricane Isabel in 2003, which was still a cat 1 hurricane when the center came over Richmond. A ton of destruction and many people didn't have power for weeks.

To further complicate things, a strong cold front came about a week later which spawned severe storms and even a couple tornadoes. I remember sitting in my dark house that night and hearing the winds howl. It felt like the hurricane had come back

The other real destruction maker was Tropical Depression Gaston in 2004 which just sat over central Virginia. Much of downtown Richmond was flooded. It took many months before some places opened back up in Shockoe Bottom in Richmond. I remember the National Weather Service was calling for an inch or two of rain from Gaston. Most areas saw more than 10 inches in a 8 to 12 hour period.

Definitely was an exciting weather time for Virginia in 2003 and 2004. Isabel was expected, although the extent of damage still surprised many. Gaston though was totally an unexpected event. We thought a weakening system would bring some rain. Not spawn over a dozen tornadoes and bring massive flooding to the Richmond metro area

[wingsovernc]

Hurricane Hugo in '89, definitely the biggest storm to hit this area as far back as I can remember. I live in a small town a few miles N/E of Charlotte, NC and it is exceptionally rare that the hurricanes that sometime pummel the coast of our state reach as far inland as Charlotte. Usually, some wind and a little rain is all we get. Hurricane Hugo was not projected to come inland and we were not prepared for what happened. The morning of the hurricane, I dropped my 2 sons off at their bus stop and before I could pull more than a few yards forward, he was struck by an oncoming car. An ambulance was immediately called and we spent the night at the local hospital, my son's leg in a cast and me hovering nearby. The window of his room looked out on pavement bordered on three sides by hospital wings. I noticed that it was raining and wind was ferociously blowing water across the lot but no one told us it was the hurricane. At some point, the lights went out and we were on emergency power. I learned from watching the local news the next morning that our area had suffered a tremendous amount of damage from the storm. My son fully recovered and our little house had hardly any damage. We were indeed very lucky.

[GeorgiaGirl]

Worst Ice Storm: January 26th, 2004
Worst Severe Storm: Masters Week tornadoes last year

[wsushox1]

May 7-8 2009 Derecho. Anemometer meauserd 93 MPH wind before going offline.

Insane stuff


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2009_Sout...Midwest_derecho

Follow the wind damage on the 7th from Kansas then on to Missouri on the 8th





This derecho also produced a lot of tornadoes as evident on the May 8th Storm Report image.

This post has been edited by wsushox1: May 15 2010, 12:41 PM

[jdrenken]

May 7-8 2009 Derecho. Anemometer meauserd 93 MPH wind before going offline.

Insane stuff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2009_Sout...Midwest_derecho

Follow the wind damage on the 7th from Kansas then on to Missouri on the 8th





This derecho also produced a lot of tornadoes as evident on the May 8th Storm Report image.

The notorious "land-cane". I was lucky in that it went South of me. But man...I remember watching it on the radar as it slowly moved thru Southern MO. By the way...it recorded a 106mph gust in Carbondale, IL.

[Niyologist]

Worst storms to hit The Bronx:

Blizzard of 1888.

Snowfall: 40-45"

And...

Super Rain/Windstorm: March/April of 2010.

Rainfall: 5-6"

Wind: 25-35 MPH, Gust up to 45 MPH.

This post has been edited by Niyologist: May 15 2010, 10:18 PM

[Removed_Member_StormTopia.com_*]

A little over a month ago I was tracking quite a severe outbreak rare for my region just outside of Boston. All of sudden the wind picked up debris started flying around. A garganchuan tree had been snapped in half just down the road and the NWS confirmed a microburst. Did a damage survey recently - More giant trees down. Really one crazy little dude so far away from tornado alley. Here's some video I took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZTM71Wp0po

This post has been edited by StormTopia.com: Jul 13 2010, 10:12 AM

[NYCSuburbs]

The worst (and one of the only) severe storms in the last few years to hit my area was on August 15, 2008. That storm produced a tornado warning for NE NJ and NYC, with a funnel cloud near my area. Another one in June 2009 was a very close call, all I got was heavy rain while barely a few miles to my west, there were 6 inches of hail.

[Mike W IN herkim...]

Gonna have to say the tornado that hit herkimer not to long ago..



http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/100628_rpts.html

This post has been edited by Mike W IN herkimer: Jul 17 2010, 06:08 PM

[Sagebrusher]

I was lucky enough to have been in the middle of a most impressive derecho, the 1999 Boundary Waters-Canadian derecho. I only had to dodge a couple of trees in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_Wate...anadian_Derecho

[Beck]

The worst I can remember was on August 13, 2004. Monsoonal Flow was affecting our area that day and the largest, most intense cell stalled right over my area for over an hour. I can't really explain it.

[Andros]

The worst thunderstorm I experienced in my area was on the night of July 16-17, 2005. The storm rolled into Winnipeg around 11:30 pm - as it approached the lightning was literally incessant, and I just knew it was going to be a doozy when it hit. As the person who started this thread put it, every tree outside was bent over sideways once it hit; soon very heavy rain and hail began slamming into the house and against my window, making one heck of a racket. The thunder was so loud that it shook the house. I was already up, but the rest of my family got out of bed and we sat on the couch watching the storm until it passed -- it was all so loud and intense no one could sleep. I think winds were sustained at around 90 km/hr, gusting to anywhere from 120-130 km/hr or so. It lasted about an hour, and then there was a lull for 1/2 an hour. But around 1 am we got round two. Pretty much more of the same in intensity, lasting maybe another hour as well; everyone got back out of bed. The north end of the city (where I live) got the worst of the wind, while the south end got the worst of the rain from the storms -- in excess of 100 mm in a couple areas, but generally around 60 mm in most others.

In Kildonan Park, not too far from where I lived, downburst winds of 160 km/hr (from the second storm I think) knocked over half the trees in the park. In areas all around the city, some streets were impassable from fallen trees and powerlines; I saw trees on top of people's houses, fences blown over, and branches all over the place. It was a bit surreal! We get some pretty decent storms, but nothing quite like that - this isn't Kansas or Ohio!

This post has been edited by Andros: Sep 8 2010, 07:44 AM

[petguy]

The worst storm was the ice storm that hit Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas and other parts of the country in January 2009. We were without heat and power for 5 days. There was not a light on in the entire town. You couldn't even tell that a town was here after dark. The situation was really critical, like something out of a disaster movie. And to top it all off, the temperature was bitterly cold. Hope we never have to experience anything like that again.

[fibergirl]

The worst storm as far as damage goes is the flood of 94 in Georgia...it was a real mess. I dont know how much rain fell, but it was in the late spring and a tropical depression came inland from florida and it stalled for 3 days because of a strong cold front and I never seen that much rain in my life. It rained fast and heavy for all three days...then the big indian creek which connects to all the other waterways flooded and we had every dam in the middle Georgia area burst. We had gators swimming in folks front yards and catfish the size of coffee tables swimming in the streets. Where I live, the whole town is on a hill which meant most people didn't get flooded, the bad news was all the exits out of town were flooded, roads colasped, people drowned in what they thought was a big puddle in the road, The damage was real bad in Macon, 40 miles north, the whole city was underwater to the 2nd floor because there are a few rivers that go through the city and the city is low lying compaired to other areas of the state plus had poor drainage systems. Many lakes were emptied out after their dams broke....we had to get federal emergency funds totaling over a million dollars to repair the damage. As for me, I burnt the bottom of my feet until they blistered runing on the pavement sight seeing a river in the middle of the road rushing along. My faverate fishing spot was flushed dry after its dam broke. I was 15.


second place goes to a storm that I was not around for, but it was in my area and I still feel the effects of ever once in a while. In 1978 a famous winter storm hit in Georgia. A panhandle hook took a far right and turned into a nor'easter. Well in Georgia, it rarely snows, if it does...it doesnt stick much. Well that night, 17 inches of snow was on the ground and people were trapped in their houses for 4-5 days, no power, water lines froze, no equiptment to get snow off the streets...just had to wait till it melted. Some where able to get out via 2nd story windows...then what??

My area still goes totally bonkers when the weather man even hints that it might snow....within 3-4 hours, stores are cleared of bottled water and the basics get on short supply within a day.

3rd place was a cat 4 hurricane ( I think) that hit the gulf side of florida and rode on up through Georgia (cat 1 or 2) by the time it gets to us though. This was the year florida was hit by three hurricanes within 6 weeks. I dont think any part of florida was untouched. As for us, that night it rained in sheets...you could actually see many back to back walls of water moving quickly and the wind blew so hard that we could not get the door open when we decided to bolt because we were in a mobile home. lightning flashed everywhere, power out, When the eye rolled around (sorry for the pun) we got out and drove around to see the damage. Alot of big trees down everywhere, Georgia pines (lob lollies) drop on a dime cause they are real tall with a shallow root system, also there was alot of roof damage. our carport roof peeled back like a sardine can. That trailer held up though.

An honerable mention should go to the tornado outbreak of 2007 in our area...29 tornados and alot of damage in Macon, poor macon is always getting singled out by mother earth around here, The downtown area was hit but it was at night (of course) and it was the comercial area so no body was hurt from that torndo. My brother helped folks get trees off of their houses. I told him to be careful with that chain saw, he said dont worry...I got 2 six packs of col'beer.

[stusson]

As the degree of severity of storms goes, the storm that rolled through here last night is not much of one in the way of loss, displacement, hardship and general all around catatstrophe; however it is and will be the topic of talk for the week or maybe season...

I am talking of the haboob that crossed the entire metropolitan Phoenix, AZ area the night of July 5 2011. At its fullest measure, it was 60miles wide and 3,000 ft height, estimated at 50mph ground speed, traveled well over 100 miles in lineal distance. It was accompanied with thundershowers, but they were not of the typical "flash, splash, and done" variety, and not very much rain was left on the ground. The real exciting part was the DUST! These types of storms can pick up sand and silts from the desert floor and carry them like waves coming to a shoreline, leaving a deposit of sand fines to create a real big nuisance.

Even today, the day after, the air is still dust laden, and precautions are out for those with respiratory sensitivities.

This event will be remembered for along time.

> > > A couple days later, and this EDIT >

read and see some of the facts on AW News item here...

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/stor...ic-dust-s-1.asp

This post has been edited by stusson: Jul 8 2011, 12:00 AM

[New England Stor...]

Worst thunderstorm in Halifax. Would have been in June 99 Lots of CG, Hail, and a tornado warning was a crazy storm.

2.Aug 97, funnel clouds in hanson and all over the area. The low top showers were nothing special but a torando threat non the less.

[Dave12308]

The tornadic supercell that dropped an EF1 tornado in Montgomery County, NY and parts of Schenectady County, NY - it happened a week ago this past Sunday (9/4/2011).

It was one of those days where I was figuring all of the storms would miss us, as usual.

Turns out, I was wrong.

[Hertz]

My worst/most memorable (thunder)storms (Cleveland, OH) by year for recent years:

2011 - February 28 early morning storms that rapidly melted an over half a foot snowpack. May 23 supercell about 7:00PM with tornado warning (oddly only severe thunderstorm watch), May 25 line of storms with tornado watch around 7-8PM, July 19 early morning storm (no severe watch but thunder was REALLY loud at night), August 24-25 overnight storm around 12:30AM with tornado watch. Worst storm overall is May 23 supercell due to tornado warning.

2010 - There were some bad storms here on May 7 but I was not in town so can't report. Very loud pre-dawn storm May 14 but oddly no watch. Severe pre-dawm storm June 6 with tornado watch. Dangerous squall line October 26 with tornado watch. CAPE in that last case was under 500 j/kg if I recall correctly! In fact I'd say October 26 was the worst storm of that year.

2009 - February 11 storm with little thunder but almost 70 mph wind gust. I actually can't think of anything else in '09 that truely struck my memory.

2008 - More almost thunderless but extremely windy convective winter events during nights of January 8-9 and January 29-30. Being placed in a Moderate Risk of severe storms when I woke up on June 15 after the previous day's Day 2 Outlook was just showing general storms. I didn't get a big storm that day but the sudden change of outlook doesn't leave my memory. Hurricane Ike in the fall, yet there was almost no rain along the cold front, despite forecasts of severe storms, but the synoptic wind was extreme. Another very high convective wind without thunder early morning December 28. Overall Ike was probably the worst of the year due to duration.

2007 - Huge August rainstorms. Mainly a thunderstorm in the morning of August 7 that produced over 3 inches of rain and took out my power.

2006 - Big, heavy rain producing severe storms June 19-22. Memory starting to fade to just the worst storms.

2005 - Severe storms late afternoon July 26 and August 20. I was riding on the freeway when the August 20 one hit.

2004 - Intense derecho storms afternoon May 21, evening June 13, and afternoon June 14. The May 21 storm was the most severe.

2003 - Week long extremely unsettled periods in May (record tornado outbreak for the nation) and July. Big windstorm (with short but intense thunderstorm at onset) November 12-13.

2002 - November 10 evening storms. I was actually scared there would be a real tornado, and back then I didn't understand severe storms occur like that in November.

Anyways that's 10 years back and my memory gets less and less so probably have gone far enough.