Winter storms in the US

[BlueRover]

We just finished having a record cold December, no record lows just every single day and then a start to the coldest January. Temperature has risen and the rain has started to wash away the snow. Very happy watching our weather report.

Then just to make us feel guilty, videos of the storms lashing out across our neighbours to the south. Some of the videos where of places we had visited in the past so where of special interest. Ice, snow, and even tornadoes do not make life enjoyable. TV reported at least 15 states that where hard hit and more to come.

Hope that nobody got hurt, suffered any property damage, or went without power and heat. Sometimes winter really sucks.

[ChewChewTrain]

Cold? Burrrrr. Never could understand why early people would settle so far north.

I lived through one winter in Reno, Nevada. Doesn't snow much in Reno, but even the simple act having to scrape frost off the car windows was too much inconvenience for me.

[R.I.D.E.]

Malaria and Yellow Fever tended to move people further north, or just kill them off.
Another thing is free refrigeration.

[ChewChewTrain]

I heard the key selling point for selling refrigerators to the Eskimos was "Put your food in this box, so it will NOT freeze!"

[Draigflag]

Quick question, I've always wondered, why do they keep building timber houses in Tornado areas? They blow away and people die (and if they survive, termites eat them) Here we don't have many Tornados, most are out at sea, but our buildings are Brick and Stone and last a few thousand years at least.

I'm assuming it's to do with cost?

[ChewChewTrain]

Never thought of it like THAT. Hmmm. I have a solution. Since it would be silly for us to rebuild our homes with bricks and you guys rebuild with wood, LET'S SWITCH! You live here and we live there.

[OliverGT]

Probably due to cost and availability of materials. But have to agree, you would think that even building with wood you could build something that was a little more resistant to a tornado. Maybe you can't? Any engineers out there that can comment? Don't forget though that to build it stronger is going to cost more in the short term, maybe not in the long term as you won't have to rebuild it.

[BlueRover]

Very few homes are damaged in tornadoes except for trailer parks (caravan) that they seem to seek out. Most of the damage is from trees falling down and floods.

Of course I have never actually seen a house damaged by a tornado.

[Draigflag]

What about the entire towns and neighbourhoods completely wiped out by huge storms?

[BlueRover]

Where where they ? I'll have to look it up.