What's your worst weather experience?

[Stevie-Ray]

The "Derecho of 1980" was my worst experience. It hit Wisconsin first and Michigan a day later. Over 100mph winds, driving rain, and tornadoes amid an eerie green hue. I had to sit in the unemployment office as it lost power and watch what appeared to be the city of Taylor get swept down Eureka road. As the power returned after the storm and I had my check in hand, I drove home through what looked like a war zone. Trees were uprooted everywhere, power lines were down and driving in a straight line was virtually impossible. The sound of chain saws was prevalent on the entire drive. We got our power back on after 8 hours, Lincoln Park wasn't so lucky. My mother was without power for over a week. It was hot that week, adding to the misery of those without power. It truly brought out the "neighbors helping neighbors" attitude that is so prevalent in this state of ours.

I've been in a couple tornadoes since, and these pale in comparison to the destruction wrought that year.

 

[Green Girl]

I was in an ice storm in early December on the coast of Washington many years ago. I was in charge of a small 24/7 facility there. It was all computer based and we lost our main power AND our back up power. That added a new chapter to our emergency procedures. It was tense!

 

[Two-Stroke]

My worst involves being way out in the boondocks on a bicycle in the cold rain without adequate gear to keep warm. In cases like that there's nothing to so but just keep pushing until it's over and learn to do a better job planning next time. Weather maps on the internet are a huge help in avoiding these problems.

 

[monica123]

We had an ice storm here a number of years ago, there was so much ice we had no power for nearly 2 weeks and we had to waddle through snow up to my waist to my neighbors about 10 mins away to get water because they had a spring. Thank goodness we had a wood stove, we put all the stuff from our freezer and fridge in holes we carved in the snow.

 

[gardener]

I have experience numerous typhoons already from Caloy, to Milenyo, to Ondoy to Juan. I must say that all are terrible. With Ondoy, rain falls the whole day, water levels up faster than one can imagine. With Juan on the other hand, whistling wind takes away all the communication means from internet to mobile phones to telephone lines.

 

[adan]

Hi Juan! I'm also from the Philippines. Great to see a "Kababayan" here. But I'm from way down south where typhoons never come (most people in Manila do not know that).

Where were you when Ondoy came? The pictures and videos I saw were all frightening and heart-breaking.

 

[gardener]

Hi Juan! I'm also from the Philippines. Great to see a "Kababayan" here. But I'm from way down south where typhoons never come (most people in Manila do not know that).

Where were you when Ondoy came? The pictures and videos I saw were all frightening and heart-breaking.

When Ondoy Came, I was actually at home. Good Thing it's my Saturday off. Water Level in my area reached knee-high in less than an hour. 'Twas the worst flood ever since I came here in Manila.

 

[adan]

It was the worst it seems for everyone in Manila, especially in Marikina. I have read that during the regime of the unpopular Marcos, a study already pointed out that a flood as bad as Ondoy could happen in that area. SM Malls took heed of this study and built SM Marikina high above the river.

Look at this . . .

Then look at this . . .

​

The engineers of SM were swiftly rewarded for their prudence.

In the second image, the water at the foreground is flood water. There's a major highway that submerged underneath it, stranding tens of thousands of people for close to 48 hours.

The reputation of others that didn't take heed were swiftly swept away. Real estate prices in lower parts of Marikina dropped like a log, while those in higher areas rose like a wave.

 

[minkyung]

Hi Adan, the pics are shocking. Pictures show very clearly. Water in the river was very deep during Ondoy. YouTube has many video on Ondoy. I cannot breath while watching. We hope Han River will never rise like that.

 

[carl22]

I guess my worst weather experience was as a teenager in Ohio. I was 16 and working my part time job at Waffle House. It began to snow, and it kept snowing. By the time I got off of work, snow was halfway up the door to my 66 Buick. Crazy me, not knowing any better, just knocked the snow out of the way and got in and started driving. I made it home, ten miles away, all the time seeing abandoned cars all along the highway. Come to find out, I'd just driven home in Ohio's worst blizzard on record in that old 66 Buick.