Storm Hell & Amazing Indifference

ricki · #1 07-15-2010, 03:32 PM

I count at least nine guys out within ready striking range for the gust front from this monster. Amazing indifference, stupidity or ignorance, what is it?
Then they try to land in it instead of emergency depowering early? Lucky guys but luck doesn't last forever. Use your smarts next time.

Put another way, if you stick a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger, it could smart, right? This is the same thing, just involving kites and insanely obvious dangerous weather.

...

"I'm sure there's some of you guys on here who were out there today!

These words are by eazyrider from the kitesbuggiesandboards forum:

"Well if ever the phrase "OMG" could be used today was it!

It started offnice, sunny, warm and around 15mph then after a while me and peter32 noticed the mother of all storm fronts coming
in from the sea, I had been keeping an eye on it for around half an hour and everyone on the land and water was enjoying the effects of
the front moving in.

Then a flash of lightning around 10-20 miles away after the 3rd every landbased kiter had landed and sanded there kites. As we stood there
watching this monster grow and the front was moving at a rate that made you move your head to follow it.

After the 6th flash of lightning most of the water lads where running in and I went on kite catching duty and that was it!

ALL HELL BROKE LOSE!

The wind went from 20mph to 60-70mph in a second! Two lads where picked from the water one covered the entire beach Around 500m
without touching the ground and only came down as he was tangled with another kiter who was in flight. People where sliding down the beach
at around 30-40mph with their kites at the edge! I went to chase after one person but then he had around 10 people running after him so I
made the mad dash back to my kite that was still weighted down yet moving up the beach. People left right and centre were trying to fire
their safety but the load was to much to fire off from Naish to slingy not people where on their knees going across the beach tugging with
both hands at the safety yet nothing!

Pampers is 18st and was setting up his kite he ended sat on his un-inflated venom and it was dragging him up the beach, here's jonny
was knocked over by the wind and it was like nature just went "F**K YOU"

On the up side no one was badly hurt and only a couple of kites got damaged but it could have been so much worse!

Do you remember that video from 2 years ago of the kitesurfer who was out in Miami when he got lofted and slamed into the
building and went over the camera man?

Well it was like that but with around 15 experienced local lads.

The mad part is (and the worrying part) it was a buitifull sunny day with a 15mph breeze with around 30 kites up in total and I dread
to think what would of happened if it was at the weekend as there would have been around 60-70 beginners on the land and water and
30+ experienced people on the land and water. Now think of around 100 kitesurfers all overpowered and tea bagging across the
beach with all the bucket and spaders

Anyway a quick warning!

Keep an eye on the weather behind you and know and understand what a storm front looks like and if you see on get your kite down
and packed up. It might take 30 minuets to get to you it could take 30 seconds or it might just die out but you will be safe and it only
takes a few minuets to set up again.

Be safe guys!"
http://www.kiteboarder.co.uk/kitesur...hp?f=1&t=40473

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z51bx...layer_embedded

Here's a video of the same cloud flying over land. These storms can travel a mile a minute (60 mph), in low visibility it can be on you before you know it, literally!

.

biohorn · #2 07-23-2010, 10:17 PM

Hi Rick and all,

I found a working link for that storm photo. This thing is a monster. The YouTube video also captures it's power and scale quite well.

So you all tell me...would you keep riding after seeing that thing coming? (not like you could miss it!) Surely everyone was on nice big kites and now will try to cope with the first blast of gusts. How can one test a 40+ mph emergency release (with a big kite)? Sounds like a nightmare to me.

We had a similarly powerful front come through Cleveland about 6-7 years ago. The horizon was gray like a big fire. It went from sun to near black. They rolled in at ground level easily at 30+ mph, maybe more like 40+. Right as it came by it was carrying a load of birds, dust, rain. As it started to come by it was hard to tell whether or not it was a tornado. I went back home and looked at the radar. It was a solid red THIN line stretching about half the state.

A while back a Canadian fellow (experienced rider) got caught in one of those, knocked unconscious and thrown into a structure. Experienced rider riding alone. He did not make it.

We had a big one last year. Here it is on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew7BeDKd4pU

Notice how the winds goes every direction! As we basically never get s-e rains, it did a good job of power washing decades of dust off our brick front of house.

Danimal8199 · #3 07-24-2010, 06:34 PM

That looks to be on an apocalyptic level, not what a t-storm looks like here, that has a very well and scary defined look to it!

ricki · #4 07-24-2010, 09:05 PM

It is a dramatic shelf cloud, the most intense one that I have seen. The fact that there are a bunch of kiters before it accents it even more so. Thing is, we do have clouds like this, shelf clouds anyway. They are fairly common although again, I've never seen one quite like this. They seem to show up in some tropical systems in particular. We have more violent sudden squalls in South Florida than most other areas that come to mind. In the summer there are thermal squalls and embedded squalls in tropical systems. In the winter there are squall lines with fronts. I've spent some years looking at windgraphs we do have quite a few powerful ones. Thing is, most other areas I've seen information for ALSO have violent squalls at one time or another. South Florida doesn't have a monopoly on them at all as some people believed in years past, stupidly. Pays to know weather, wherever you ride.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danimal8199

That looks to be on an apocalyptic level, not what a t-storm looks like here, that has a very well and scary defined look to it!

ricki · #5 07-24-2010, 09:14 PM

Thanks, I hadn't noticed the link had been taken out of circulation after I made the post. The photographer certainly does deserve credit, an amazing photo.

I really can't explain it, lack of reason or concern perhaps. I once almost had a water spout sneak up on me in Miami. It was one of the fair weather kind, that happens with puffy cumulous clouds in sunny weather. I noticed it when it was a 1/2 mile offshore, could have seen it a bit sooner however. Thing is these shelf clouds come with heavy weather, the kind that shows up in weather forecasts, hazard forecasts, color radar and to the eye as well. You have the means to anticipate heavy weather, beyond which we should always be aware of our surroundings. Things can and will change over time, even boats coming into the area. Pays to know in advance.

I had hoped that the manufacturers were routinely checking their QR under load these days UNLIKE in years past. Some of the early pin releases would consistently fail to release under load. That bright red in the radar, orange and other colors indicative of powerful convection are ready giveaways of hazardous weather. Pays to stay aware.

I am not sure that I have heard about the Canadian accident previously. I would appreciate it if you could send along what information you have, either here, via PM to ricki or email to flkitesurfer at hotmail.com. Thank you for mentioning it.

That is the thing about these squalls, the wind frequently does go NUTS!!! Changing direction and velocity at great speed, enough to stall and slingshot your kite repeatedly. Just look at wind spikes on ikitesurf and then look at the direction arrows at the top, often it is a confused mass of arrows firing off all over. That is what squalls can do and skill can be almost of no significance in them. What can you do if your kite refuses to fly and then flies off in multiple directions over seconds?

Quote:

Originally Posted by biohorn

Hi Rick and all,

I found a working link for that storm photo. This thing is a monster. The YouTube video also captures it's power and scale quite well.

So you all tell me...would you keep riding after seeing that thing coming? (not like you could miss it!) Surely everyone was on nice big kites and now will try to cope with the first blast of gusts. How can one test a 40+ mph emergency release (with a big kite)? Sounds like a nightmare to me.

We had a similarly powerful front come through Cleveland about 6-7 years ago. The horizon was gray like a big fire. It went from sun to near black. They rolled in at ground level easily at 30+ mph, maybe more like 40+. Right as it came by it was carrying a load of birds, dust, rain. As it started to come by it was hard to tell whether or not it was a tornado. I went back home and looked at the radar. It was a solid red THIN line stretching about half the state.

A while back a Canadian fellow (experienced rider) got caught in one of those, knocked unconscious and thrown into a structure. Experienced rider riding alone. He did not make it.

We had a big one last year. Here it is on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew7BeDKd4pU

Notice how the winds goes every direction! As we basically never get s-e rains, it did a good job of power washing decades of dust off our brick front of house.