So yesterday we were surprised with a big blow, a turbonada, a remolino, a mini tornado. Winds speeds were measured and reported at about 120k/h (low 70 mph)
I was telling someone this morning that we were a little accustomed to winds like that from having lived so long in Colorado.
Here however it is quite unusual. And the 'what if' planning/precautions just don't exist. Corrugated sheet metal or plastic laminate roofing that is baling wired to semi rigid structures just blows away. Trees with no root structure are uprooted. Large limbs growing through utility wires...
Here at our house we are incredibly fortunate that we get little or no water in the house even during the most torrential downpours. The rain associated with yesterdays wind was not excessive.
We have now identified a few areas of concern; where precaution needs to be addressed when confronted with high wind. And hopefully, in the event of a hurricane we'll have a little warning.
I have several windchimes that now need to be restrung. We have several plants that need to be weighted down or moved in the event of big winds, a few of my garden faery statutes were blown over and now suffer with broken wings. But the biggest issue WAS the areca palms that bordered the fountain on the back wall of the pool. I was standing there in the doorway, enjoying the cool that the winds were bringing, and pondering the potential damage that could occur when I suddenly saw the farthest potted palm start to twist and then just drop into the pool.
I just started laughing, then ran to grab the camera - who'd a thunk - so I'm standing there, seeing the lightening, hearing the thunder, pondering the wind when what to my wandering eye does appear, but Tom butt naked, we'll except for his dive mask, going in to the pool to get that palm out!
So as more lightening occurs and I am just flabbergasted, gob smacked, drop jawed, he went in to the frickin pool, during a lightening storm to get a plant out. And trust me, it wasn't the plant he was worried about!
So, as he is underwater dragging the palm to the steps to get it out, he tells me later he feels a swish and stands up and looks about. The other palm has been blown into the pool and just barely misses him. As easy as that wind moved these things, they are not light, he could have been seriously hurt.
So here you can see the remnants of the two broken pots.
And notice he left the expensive sculpture there on the side of the pool.
I made a quick assessment and we suffered only a few branches down, but quite a mess of leaves and twigs and such that now needs to be cleaned up.
Around town there was considerably, a Huge, Ancient tree in parque Santiago blew over, and just yesterday morning I had stood in the shade of that tree waiting for a ride. Very sad.
And Downtown looked quite like a war zone because of the narural debris, trash, and a LOT of the glass from the big window wall of the Ambassador Hotel (five stories of it) that blew out. The glass blew quite far! Several blocks around calle 59 were closed. And apparently it hailed! I've heard reports of hail, but saw no evidence of it here!
There was quite a bit of damage, and many trees and limbs down along Montejo, but by 11pm the crews had much of it brushed in to piles and were busy with the chainsaws and chippers to remove it.