Northern Mich April 17th, 2011

[cbavier]

Can you believe this CRAP?

Woke up to 4 inches of snow this morning.

[lakerunner696]

Man that sucks. I won't tell you I am going fishing again today

[cbavier]

Loyd I figured you were since you said you were going fishing every day. When I got up and saw the snow the first thing I thought of besides "This Sucks" is you and Lake Tenkiller. I'm just glad I wasn't in North Carolina where the tornadoes hit last night. 24 confirmed dead.

[GregF]

It makes me wonder why the snowbirds are going home already.

[cbavier]

Greg it's because of all the unstable weather between Fla and the Northern or Eastern states. Like all the tornadoes in NC and VA last night. Besides the heat starts in April and there rent is up at the first of the month and normally the weather is starting to get nice up here so they just come back home. I have a friend that winters in FLA and they were going to come home tomorrow the 18th but when they saw the weather reports and projection they left last Tuesday and beat the rain, wind and ___bad weather? Drove all the way to Mich on dry roads.

[Brandon]

I am in North Carolina.....Its really awesome when Tornado's are coming and you have no where to go. Want to talk about a hopeless feeling.

[cbavier]

I am in North Carolina.....Its really awesome when Tornado's are coming and you have no where to go. Want to talk about a hopeless feeling.

I would think "Terrifying" would be a better word to use than "Awesome". My parents grew up Midwest. Dad from S.W. Kansas and my Mother from N'E' Oklahoma. Out there they have and use Tornado shelters. Like a cellar or cave in the ground to go when the sirens sound. They are stocked to last several days. Food, water and emergency supplies.

[Brandon]

Well there was a ton of sarcasim in using "awesome", However we have some high winds and Tornado's every once in a a while and its not that bad here and this is the worst one we have had since Hurricane Hugo, with that being said, I plan on my next house making one of those shelters regardless just to be on the safe side, when you look outside and trees are bent over and there are signs flying down the road and the wind is roaring at your windows, I look at my Kids and just say Dear God please protect my family because other than my bathtub with a mattress on top I had no way of protecting them. Thank God nothing happened to severe to us. Although I do have damage to my boat nothing to major though just holes all in the seats where the hail hit it, I did not have it covered because I just got off the lake, I have to get some estimates to replace it for insurance purposes. The wind could have taken my boat and threw it to Europe for all I cared It is a terrible feeling not being able to protect your kids from something. By the way just so you guys know your boat is covered by your home owners if it is at your house during a storm.

[GregF]

I am surprised the folks up there do not push for a better wind code. It really does work. I was looking at the tornado damage on TV the other day and I saw a 16' or so top plates with 2 J bolts, one of the nuts was missing.
It appears the codes assume all of loads will be down.

Quick test, Which house was built to a 150 MPH wind code?

[cbavier]

Well I'm about 80 miles south of the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge. The bridge that spans The Upper Peninsula of Mich to the lower peninsula. We DO NOT have Tornadoes where I am. We are in a BIG River Valley where I live. Now in the central and southern parts of the lower Peninsula they do have tornadoes. I am surrounded by lakes. 3 of the ten largest in the state. We was in both NC and SC about a year after Hurricane Hugo and It was hard to believe all the destruction even as far as ten miles inland.

[Towdaddy]

Our RV park on Hardy Lake opened this weekend. I spent Friday moving everything from storage to our site. Rain and a Norteast wind started that evening. Cold and wet on Saturday. Turned to snow Saturday night and wind shifted to the West at 25-40 mph. Woke up this morning to about an inch of snow and 33 degrees.

Drove back home to Kalamazoo and we are expecting 1-4 inches tonight.

All in all, we still enjoyed the weekend.

Boat comes back to the marina on May. Hopefully, it will be warmer by then but I have camped in 30 degree weather the weekend before Memorial day in years past.

[Brandon]

I just went trout fishing on opening day and it was 21 degrees at night time, snowing and I was in a tent. That was the coldest night ive ever had, the next night I slept in my buddies expedition

[Jake]

Yeah this snow stinks. I was up at my place last Sunday and it was 80 F and the lake was still covered with ice. That's MI for ya.

[GregF]

We have had water temps in the 80s for a couple weeks. We are seeing high 80s during the day and high 60s at night, no rain. This is what we call Chamber of Commerce weather. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go north now. If I was a snowbird, I would go up in June and come back in September.

[pelicantooner]

6" of snow in Eastern ND on Saturday Morning...more snow expected this week. Dont care, I am getting the toon out of storage tonight after work. Need to haul it to the lake on Thurday or Friday. Come on spring!!