Severe weather may flood homes, businesses & bring dangerous hail & lightening ~ Bronxville, NY 10708
Your weather Safety Hints from Hillary are below:
But first, our severe weather that rained down on the Tri-state area this Saturday stretched from Westchester County and NY state, to our north and south, all the way to Boston and down to the Florida Panhandle. This storm was a monster.
Westchester County’s hail and flood damage threats diminished overnight on Saturday. But, with our high water table from recent rain showers, the chance for flooding in low areas of Bronxville, NY and the lower HUD rose by the hour!
Our most significant threat from this weekend storm were high winds, predicted to exceed 40 mph and rain brought the chance of flash flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms. They predicted that this storm could throw down a torrential 1 to 3 inches of rain per hour, in some northeast states.
Remember that if you have a home listed or own a business or home with a basement or lower level flood, get the water out as soon as possible and run good sized, effective dehumidifier at a setting of 55 Relative humity (Rh).
You should know that “grey water” or flooding can make a “Petri dish” of bacteria in your home. It can also lead to mold growth if flooring and walls are not completely dried out.
Call a restoration company that deals with water and fire cleanup. We pump out the water quickly, perform mold prevention and we’re certified in “structural drying” and mold remediation.
So weather pros said that showers and thunderstorms might bring hail and damaging winds. Our chance of overnight rain Saturday was 95%, so we knew it was going to be a wet night and our many Bronxville and lower HUD clients might need us.
We hope that you just stayed in and watched the Olympics, given the choice, and stayed off of the roads and parkways, where the unenlightened overdrive the wet conditions in Westchester County, endangering their own and YOUR life!
Also, be aware of lightening in severe weather situations. The National Weather Service (NWS) offers great advice about avoiding a lightening strike and risk, when you're outdoors.
When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!
Our national lightning safety community reminds you that there is little you can do to substantially reduce your risk of being struck, if you are outdoors in a thunderstorm. The only completely safe thing to do is to get inside a safe building, or vehicle.
Remember, if you can hear the thunder, then lightening is likely around the corner. You can be at risk outside for up to 30 minutes after the thunder passes by and subsides.
Find a Safe Building: A safe building is one that is fully enclosed with a roof, walls and floor, and has plumbing or wiring. Stay out of the shower and off the phone (landlines) and away from any electronics.
Unsafe buildings that won’t protect you include car ports, open garages, covered patios, picnic shelters, beach pavilions, golf shelters, tents of any kind, baseball dugouts, sheds or even greenhouses. Pools are lightening magnets as is an open beach near the ocean…put the umbrellas down and RUN for cover.
A Safe Vehicle is any fully enclosed metal-topped vehicle – like a hard-topped vs. a convertible car, minivan, bus, truck, etc. While inside the vehicle, do not use electronic devices such as radio or short wave communications during a thunderstorm. If you drive into a thunderstorm, slow down and use extra caution. If possible, pull off the road into a safe area and do not leave the vehicle during a thunderstorm.
Unsafe vehicles include convertibles, golf carts, riding mowers, open cab construction equipment and boats without cabins.
Bolts from the Blue
A lightning flash can travel horizontally many miles away from the thunderstorm and then strike the ground.
These types of lightning flashes are called "Bolts from the Blue" because they seem to come out of a clear blue sky. While blue sky may exist overhead (or in part of the sky overhead) a thunderstorm is always located 5 to 10 miles (and sometimes even farther) away. Although these flashes are rare, they have caused fatalities.
An example is our friend in South Carolina – a state that was also hard hit by some of our same storms today – who was struck by lightening. He was walking to the mailbox at his family’s house after a thunderstorm. The sky was blue, the storm had passed and all the rain had stopped. Greg heard thunder way in the distance, but thought the lightening was, “long gone by then, it had been more than 15 minutes since the rain stopped.”
Unfortunately, he was inside the NWS 30 minute window of safety. He was struck and lost consciousness and his sneakers were “smoking hot,” but he was lucky and lived. Greg had the shakes for a couple of weeks and still shies a bit when a storm is on the way.
To date this year, there were 17 Americans who were not as lucky after they were struck. So, to avoid a fatality, the magic number or time table is TO WAIT 30 minutes after “the storm has passed,” before you leave that safe shelter or vehicle. Your life is worth the wait!
Lightning Risk Reduction When a Safe Location is Nearby
Run to a safe building or vehicle when you first hear thunder, see lightning or observe dark threatening clouds developing overhead. Stay inside until 30 minutes after you hear the last clap of thunder. Do not shelter under trees. You are not safe anywhere outside. Plan Ahead!
Your best source of up-to-date weather information is NOAA’s Weather Radio. Portable radios are handy for outdoor activities. If you don't have NWR tuned in, stay up to date via the Internet on your cell phone or find a nearby deli or location with a TV or radio signal. If you are in a group, make sure all leaders or members of the group have a lightning safety plan and are ready to use it.
If you are part of a large group, you will need extra time to get everyone to a safe place. NWS recommends having proven professional lightning detection equipment, so your group can be alerted from significant distances from the event site.
Below are a few common outdoor scenarios with National Weather Service and my own suggestions on how to safely respond to the lightning threat. Those of us who lifeguarded (was a pool operator for 7 years), these are part of our training for swimmer and outdoor safety:
Coaching Outdoor Sports Teams - Yo Dad!:
You coach a little league team and have a game this evening at the local recreational park. The weather forecast for the day calls for partly cloudy skies, with a chance of thunderstorms by early evening. You arrive in your vehicle while the kids arrive with their parents. When you get to the park, you notice the only buildings are the restrooms (an enclosed building with plumbing and electricity). Shortly after sunset, the skies start to cloud up and you see bright flashes in the sky to the west.
What should you do?
In this case, you should get everyone into vehicles or the restrooms. Do NOT stay in the dugouts; they are not safe during lightning activity. Once at a safe place, wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder before going back and resuming play.
At the Beach/Lake
Your family plans to go to the beach today, but the weather forecast calls for a nice morning and a 30 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms. When you get to the beach, you see that the only nearby structures are open sided picnic shelters. The parking lot is about a five minute walk from the beach. By early afternoon you notice the skies darkening and hear distant thunder. What should you do?
Go to your car! Do NOT seek shelter under the beach picnic shelters. Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder before going back to the beach.
Camping and Other Wilderness Activities
You are cooking dinner on the camp stove when you hear distant rumbles of thunder. Your tent and a large open sided picnic shelter are nearby. Your vehicle is about a mile away, parked at the trail head. What should you do?
Go to your vehicle! The tent and picnic shelter are NOT safe places. Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder before going back to your campsite. For those who cannot get to a vehicle get low. I’ll have more tips on safety in my next blog on severe weather…and we haven’t even had a hurricane yet.
Stay tuned for more Summer Safety Hints from Hillary and have a great season!
Flood damage due to severe weather this weekend in Bronxville NY 10708
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