Post by va3css on Sept 22, 2005 19:58:45 GMT -5
As I left work on September 22, 2005 at 6pm, the skies West of Techumseh, Ontario were darker than the ones above me. It was looking like rain at the least, or a thunderstorm was certain in a short while.
I drove Westward, into downtown Windsor, and into the approaching weather. I reached my destination in Windsor at about 6:20pm. By then, the skies West of Windsor, and North of Windsor, over the Detroit river, were very very dark. It was clear that more than a rainshower was coming.
As I began to make my way South toward home, the skies behind me, (Detroit, Michigan) were dark enough to obscure the view. It looked like night. This was no mere rain shower approaching.
By 6:45pm, I was Southbound just outside of Windsor, and the approaching storm was now engulfing me. The streetlights were on - the winds picking up quickly - the rain going from a trickle to a steady, heavy stream.
A quick browse to a local Michigan repeater confirmed a Skywarn net already in progress. Yet, Environment Canada had yet to call a Canwarn net...
By this time, many Windsor area hams were joining me on the local repeater, getting in their reports of current weather conditions, and all of us asking if a Canwarn net has been called.
One of the local Canwarn net control ops joined the QSO, and when asked, told us that his pager had not yet gone off. Most of us felt, but this time, it should have. In fact, they should have been paged probably a half hour before this point, if at all possible.
A mere ten minutes later, the storm had fully taken hold of the area. The lightning was furious, cloud-to-ground and frequent. Winds had gusted to the point that debris was littering the streets. Rain was torrential, and visibility zero. I could see "chads" - the tell-tale signs of tornado-producing storm clouds - hanging low to the ground beside me. Fortunately, they were not spinning at the time. The streetlights, and homes, were now all dark.
Still no Canwarn net.
By 7:05pm, I had reached my cutoff and began heading West again. Still being battered by very strong wind gusts and torrential rain, I had reduced my speed in the vehicle. A pair of headlights barely visible to me in the distance, heading East, suddenly shifted South - off the road. The wind gust was too much for the little car, while my Jeep remained on the road, although shaken by the gust. I stopped momentarily to make sure the occupants were OK. They were, and their car was able to carry on under it's own power. I continued along the way.
Still no Canwarn net.
I made a stop for gas before pulling into my driveway, and finally pulled in at 7:25pm. By this time, the cell was breaking and I could actually see a sliver of daylight over Detroit river. In Essex, Ontario, Gary, ve3glc, was out in his mobile reporting conditions even worse than I had just experienced in my mobile.
Heading inside, I quickly jumped on the internet to see a map. Sure enough, something wicked had passed over us, and I was flabbergasted that nobody called a Canwarn net.
I immediately went to Environment Canada's weather page to check for the latest warnings. This is what I found:
No kidding. I just drove through it, after all...
Know what time this warning was put out?
7:18pm!!!
Are you kidding me???
By 7:18pm, the storm was clearing the Windsor area and bombarding the County of Essex! The power was already out in many areas of Windsor and parts of Essex County, and the storm cell was still rolling on!
This is completely ridiculous! A weather warning for a storm of that magnitude and strength should NOT have waited for the majority of it to pass over before being called.
This is very similar to a situation years ago in this area, when a tornado touched down in Michigan and crossed into East Windsor, tearing through the area and leaving plenty of destruction in it's wake. The tornado warning was issued by Environment Canada AFTER people went outside to assess the damage to their properties.
Those unfamiliar with this area should know a little bit about the history. There used to be a manned Weather office at the Windsor Airport. It's where the local Environment Canada weather radio transmitter is located. Thanks to government cuts, that office is no longer manned, and the weather radio broadcasts are beamed in remotely.
As such, all weather warnings for this area are now issued via the Environment Canada weather office in Toronto, Ontario - three hundred miles away!
The closest Doppler radar to this area is in Exeter - just North of London, Ontario, which is about half the distance to Toronto. Part of the reason for that is to prevent interference with the multiple Doppler radars in Southwestern Lower Michigan, that cover this area rather thickly.
The problem that causes is that Windsor is on the fringe of the range of Exeter's Doppler. If a storm cell heads for this region, and Environment Canada in Toronto are watching Exeter's radar, they may not get much warning.
And then - neither do we.
Fortunately, many of us in this area understand that tuning into Detroit-area weather info and radars helps keep us better informed.
But quite frankly, Environment Canada missed the boat on this storm - likely the most violent one of this entire year.
It's just sheer luck that no injuries or major damage occurred. We may not be so lucky next time...
As a trained weather spotter for Canwarn, I am very dissappointed how poorly this event was handled.
I drove Westward, into downtown Windsor, and into the approaching weather. I reached my destination in Windsor at about 6:20pm. By then, the skies West of Windsor, and North of Windsor, over the Detroit river, were very very dark. It was clear that more than a rainshower was coming.
As I began to make my way South toward home, the skies behind me, (Detroit, Michigan) were dark enough to obscure the view. It looked like night. This was no mere rain shower approaching.
By 6:45pm, I was Southbound just outside of Windsor, and the approaching storm was now engulfing me. The streetlights were on - the winds picking up quickly - the rain going from a trickle to a steady, heavy stream.
A quick browse to a local Michigan repeater confirmed a Skywarn net already in progress. Yet, Environment Canada had yet to call a Canwarn net...
By this time, many Windsor area hams were joining me on the local repeater, getting in their reports of current weather conditions, and all of us asking if a Canwarn net has been called.
One of the local Canwarn net control ops joined the QSO, and when asked, told us that his pager had not yet gone off. Most of us felt, but this time, it should have. In fact, they should have been paged probably a half hour before this point, if at all possible.
A mere ten minutes later, the storm had fully taken hold of the area. The lightning was furious, cloud-to-ground and frequent. Winds had gusted to the point that debris was littering the streets. Rain was torrential, and visibility zero. I could see "chads" - the tell-tale signs of tornado-producing storm clouds - hanging low to the ground beside me. Fortunately, they were not spinning at the time. The streetlights, and homes, were now all dark.
Still no Canwarn net.
By 7:05pm, I had reached my cutoff and began heading West again. Still being battered by very strong wind gusts and torrential rain, I had reduced my speed in the vehicle. A pair of headlights barely visible to me in the distance, heading East, suddenly shifted South - off the road. The wind gust was too much for the little car, while my Jeep remained on the road, although shaken by the gust. I stopped momentarily to make sure the occupants were OK. They were, and their car was able to carry on under it's own power. I continued along the way.
Still no Canwarn net.
I made a stop for gas before pulling into my driveway, and finally pulled in at 7:25pm. By this time, the cell was breaking and I could actually see a sliver of daylight over Detroit river. In Essex, Ontario, Gary, ve3glc, was out in his mobile reporting conditions even worse than I had just experienced in my mobile.
Heading inside, I quickly jumped on the internet to see a map. Sure enough, something wicked had passed over us, and I was flabbergasted that nobody called a Canwarn net.
I immediately went to Environment Canada's weather page to check for the latest warnings. This is what I found:
Radar is detecting a line of severe thunderstorms from Windsor to St Thomas moving southeastward at 70 km/h. These storms are capable of
Producing torrential rain producing near zero visibility..Damaging
Wind gusts to 90 km/h..Hail to 2 centimetres and possibly a funnel
cloud. Frequent intense lightning is likely with these storms.
Producing torrential rain producing near zero visibility..Damaging
Wind gusts to 90 km/h..Hail to 2 centimetres and possibly a funnel
cloud. Frequent intense lightning is likely with these storms.
No kidding. I just drove through it, after all...
Know what time this warning was put out?
7:18 PM EDT Thursday 22 September 2005
7:18pm!!!
Are you kidding me???By 7:18pm, the storm was clearing the Windsor area and bombarding the County of Essex! The power was already out in many areas of Windsor and parts of Essex County, and the storm cell was still rolling on!
This is completely ridiculous! A weather warning for a storm of that magnitude and strength should NOT have waited for the majority of it to pass over before being called.
This is very similar to a situation years ago in this area, when a tornado touched down in Michigan and crossed into East Windsor, tearing through the area and leaving plenty of destruction in it's wake. The tornado warning was issued by Environment Canada AFTER people went outside to assess the damage to their properties.
Those unfamiliar with this area should know a little bit about the history. There used to be a manned Weather office at the Windsor Airport. It's where the local Environment Canada weather radio transmitter is located. Thanks to government cuts, that office is no longer manned, and the weather radio broadcasts are beamed in remotely.
As such, all weather warnings for this area are now issued via the Environment Canada weather office in Toronto, Ontario - three hundred miles away!
The closest Doppler radar to this area is in Exeter - just North of London, Ontario, which is about half the distance to Toronto. Part of the reason for that is to prevent interference with the multiple Doppler radars in Southwestern Lower Michigan, that cover this area rather thickly.
The problem that causes is that Windsor is on the fringe of the range of Exeter's Doppler. If a storm cell heads for this region, and Environment Canada in Toronto are watching Exeter's radar, they may not get much warning.
And then - neither do we.
Fortunately, many of us in this area understand that tuning into Detroit-area weather info and radars helps keep us better informed.
But quite frankly, Environment Canada missed the boat on this storm - likely the most violent one of this entire year.
It's just sheer luck that no injuries or major damage occurred. We may not be so lucky next time...
As a trained weather spotter for Canwarn, I am very dissappointed how poorly this event was handled.
