Whether Wythards

Weather can be such a transitory thing for most of us.  Our attention is usually focused on whatever is in front of us - whether it is the forecast for the weekend when we hope to be outside with friends and family or the weather of the moment as we dash from the car to the shelter of a building.  It takes something truly exceptional to stick in our memories for very long - unless you are a farmer, climate scientist or a meteorologist.

Then you tend to mull things over a bit longer.

from KWWL social media post accessed Jan 8, 2022

I am still processing the weather systems that barreled through the Midwest this past December.  First, there was the big storm on December 10 and 11 that spawned one of the longest continuous tornadoes on record (with a continuous track of about 165 miles).  In Iowa, we got ice, which brings about some of its own problems.  But, this was one of those times where we were grateful not to be in the bulls-eye at the same time we looked with horror and concern at the damage in Tennessee, Kentucky and surrounding states.

from National Weather Service 1/18/22

I don't think I would have been the only one to think that we should be done with this sort of storm for the Winter months now - which is why the derecho that followed on December 15 was not just terrifying - but it felt like a grave offense to all our sensibilities (among other things).

After all, despite the fact that I have paid more attention to weather as a small-scale farmer over the past eighteen years, I had first learned of the term "derecho" in 2020, when the August 10 storm blew through Iowa.  I am taking a wild guess that very few people in the Midwest knew this piece of weather terminology prior to this point.  Or, if they did, it got pushed to the front of our minds with emphasis!

I guess it is possible that I'd heard of a derecho prior to that point, but it sure didn't stick with me.

KWWL social media post Jan 7, 2022

I think I made the mistake of continuing with the belief that tornadoes (and derechos) are warm season events.  Yes, there can be strong winds in a blizzard - but a derecho in mid-December?  

Even the forecasters seemed to be a bit flustered by the whole thing.  I have to admit that they were warning about this for a couple of days prior to the actual event and they did not waver.  They were throwing around words like "unprecedented" and "completely new territory" as they predicted the weather system that was heading our way.

Well, we listened and spent the couple of days prior to the event trying to get every potential "missile" tied down or put under cover - and happily, our farm fared reasonably well.  Some roof damage on the lean-to to the Poultry Pavilion, but we kind of expected that and couldn't do anything more to prepare for it.  

And, as you can see - we went and blew past the record for the most confirmed tornadoes in a single "outbreak."  And this was in DECEMBER.  Ugh.  Oddly enough, we had another top-five outbreak on July 14 of the past year too, including a tornado that ran just south of Waverly.

The crazy thing about the July 14 storm set is that it was so close and yet so far from our farm.  But, we got our chance at the Genuine Faux Farm on August 24 this year.  It was strong enough that it rates its own weather page at NOAA - hurray, we're famous!

That's the storm that actually caused some real damage on our farm, including knocking the chimney on the farm house down.  Nothing really horrible, but it did make some extra work to clean things up.

But, I think we could be forgiven if we were pretty jumpy on August 27, when storms went north of us.   But we still felt that one when all of that rain came down the Wapsipinicon River.  Yes, we came close to a record setting crest at Tripoli.

All of this and I haven't even mentioned that irritating killing frost at the end of May.

Oh.  Oops.  Just did.

So, what's the point in looking at all of this again? It's all in the past.  We're all doing whatever we need to do (or we have already done what we need to do) to get past these things when it comes to clean up and repair.  Severe weather happens every year, all over the globe - and has done so since the beginning.

Well, it's like a lot of things on this Earth.  It does no good to dwell on the bad things that have happened nor does it do to dwell on the bad things that could happen.  But, it is also foolish not to pay attention to these things and make reasonable preparations for the future.  Closing your eyes is also not a valid solution here.

So, what things are we looking at doing at the Genuine Faux Farm now that we've taken a look at the weather patters for the past fifteen or so years (we're just highlighting one here)?  That, my friends, is a blog for another day!