Treasured Haven Farm Weather

On June 17, 2010, Minnesota experienced a severe weather outbreak including numerous reports of hail, wind, and greater than 20 tornadoes. A complete overview of the outbreak can be found on the National Weather Service (NWS) in the Twin Cities website.  One of the 20+ tornadoes moved through portions of Treasured Haven Farm while in its initial stages of development.  The damage track surveyed by the NWS-Duluth is shown below.

The farm is located just east of the arrow in the bottom left of the image.  A wide path of weak EF-0/cyclonic wind damage spread from just north of Rush City through the farm and off to the northeast where the storm intensified in EF1 and EF2 strength. (See Enhanced Fujita Scale for more information on tornado strength.)  Pete, Peg, Zach, and Ike watched the funnel travel just east of the farm.   Most of the area the storm crossed was state forest.  Unfortunately, the tornado hit a mobile home as well as damaged many other homes along MN-70 just west of the MN/WI border which lead to the EF-2 damage rating.  A few injuries were reported in this location but it was reported they would recover.   An overview of this tornado from the NWS-Duluth.

This was the 3rd funnel or tornado to come within a mile of the farm in the past 10 years.

• On June 18, 2001, we watched a funnel go directly overhead.  This later became the F-3 tornado that struck Siren, WI. Here a storm summary from the NWS-Duluth and satellite images showing the scar from the tornado from Environmental Remote Sensing at the Space Science & Engineering Center  at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• On June 11, 2005, Pete, Peg, Zach, and Ike again watched a tornado move through the east side of the farm.  This F0 damaged only a few trees.  Below is a picture Peg took of the tornado.

At least the weather has now settled down for a couple of days.  We wish the best to those that suffered damage in all the recent storms throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.  We hope they are able to recover and rebuild and that their lives will soon return to normal.

Last week, June 20 – 26 was Lightning Safety Week across the country. Each year dozens of people die from lightning strikes in the United States. Many more are injured with life-long health effects and billions of dollars in damages result from lightning strikes. On June 15th 12 years, Treasured Haven Farm was hit by a devastating lightning strike no bigger than the size of your thumb. This > -100 kA lightning stroke at 9:35 PM CDT, immediately ignited a fire in the walls of our home.  After 3400 gallons of water the fire was out but the damage had been done.   The fire, smoke, and water damage was too great to allow us to live in our home again without significant rebuilding on one wall and a complete gutting of the entire house.   We found it more cost effective and better for our family’s health to finally build a new home with enough room for the entire family to fit comfortably.  We are still working on our new home to replace the one that sits on the farm unlivable. If you visit the farm you will see our new log home in the process of being built. If you would like to read more on the June 15th lightning strike that changed our lives check out Our Story from Elise’s perspective.

Here are a few Lightning Safety Tips to always remember:

• If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be hit. When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!
• Once indoors, avoid water, metal, windows, electronics, and corded phones or cordless phones near the receiver.  Lightning is electricity so it will travel well through water, pipes, and definitely the electrical circuit of your home.   When our home was hit, the electricity from the lightning traveled through our wiring and blew the fuses into pieces out of the fuse box and around the boys’ room like shrapnel.
• If you find yourself outdoors when a storm is approaching, the best thing to do is get into an enclosed structure.  This does not include structures that are three sided such as baseball dugouts.  If you cannot get to a enclosed structure, a next resort is your vehicle (doors and windows closed) as long as it is a solid metal frame (no convertibles or soft-tops).  The metal structure of a automobile acts as a Faraday Cage to keep the charge along the body of the car and you safe inside the center.
• If you are on a boat in the water, get to shore and out of the water! Water is a good conductor of electricity and you are a “sitting duck” while on the water in a thunderstorm.
• If you find yourself away from an enclosed structure and you cannot get to your car, start working your way to either and in the process avoid being the tallest object.  While lightning does not always strike the tallest object, the probability is higher than for shorter objects.   Never lie down on the ground, instead squat with only your feet touching the ground.
• It is important to note that lightning can strike a tree and travel into the ground through the roots and if you are close enough and injury you by the electricity coming up from the ground through your feet.
• If you are near someone who is struck by lightning, immediately perform CPR or AED if necessary.  Victims do not carry an electrical charge so it is safe to touch them.  It has been shown that victims whose hearts stop due to a lightning strike have a greater chance of survival if CPR is administered right away.
• Finally, stay indoors until the thunderstorm has well passed on from your location.  A good rule of thumb is to wait 30 minutes after you see/hear the last flash of lightning/thunder.

Stay safe this summer!