Het westen van Texas en Oklahoma (en ook delen van New Mexico en Kansas) kampen al geruime tijd met gebrek aan neerslag, hoge temperaturen, een lage luchtvochtigheid en hoge windsnelheden. Sommige plaatsen hebben in 7 maanden tijd minder dan 25 mm regen opgevangen. Grasbranden zijn daar dan ook aan de orde van de dag en in sommige gebieden is helemaal geen (groene) vegetatie meer te vinden. Bewoners vergelijken het al met de tijd van de beruchte dust bowl uit de jaren 30!
Actueel woeden ook rondom Oklahoma City grote branden:
Dit alles zal ook ongetwijfeld invloed hebben op mijn storm chase vakantie komend voorjaar. Minder buien door de droogte? Meer stofstormen en slecht zicht? Minder fraaie scenery op de foto's....
Een aantal quotes van gebruikers van het Stormtrack forum:
"6 towns including Skellytown, Lefors, Wheeler, Mobeetie, Old Mobeetie, and Miami are under manditory evacuation orders. I-40 has been shut down from Groom to the state line. There was a multiple car pileup east of Groom due to smoke involving at least 10 vehicles with at least 4 fatalities and 2 more fatilities near Borger. Both fires are still totally out of control with winds of 40+ fueling them."
"Latest news is new manditory evacuations for McClean and voluntary evacuations for north side of Pampa. Fatalities are up to 7 now and over 200, 000 acres near borger and over 500,000 acres near groomhave burned with all fires still totally out of control. Dozens of structures have been destroyed. total acres burned with all fires is close to 1,000,000 so far!!! Westbound traffic is being diverted south from I-40 to Childress then back west on 287. I-40 is still closed from From to Shamrock"
"The charred bodies of four oilfield workers were found a short distance from their car. A cow that had tried to push through a barbed wire fence was discovered burned alive. And 10,000 other cattle and horses were feared dead across the smoking landscape.
At least 11 people have died and 1,900 others have been forced to evacuate since the weekend. The fires, propelled by winds as high as 55 mph, have raced across more than 1,000 square miles."
Fimpjes:
film 1
Film 2
Film 3
Further reading:
link 1
link 2
link 3
link 4
link 5
Actueel woeden ook rondom Oklahoma City grote branden:
Dit alles zal ook ongetwijfeld invloed hebben op mijn storm chase vakantie komend voorjaar. Minder buien door de droogte? Meer stofstormen en slecht zicht? Minder fraaie scenery op de foto's....
Een aantal quotes van gebruikers van het Stormtrack forum:
"6 towns including Skellytown, Lefors, Wheeler, Mobeetie, Old Mobeetie, and Miami are under manditory evacuation orders. I-40 has been shut down from Groom to the state line. There was a multiple car pileup east of Groom due to smoke involving at least 10 vehicles with at least 4 fatalities and 2 more fatilities near Borger. Both fires are still totally out of control with winds of 40+ fueling them."
"Latest news is new manditory evacuations for McClean and voluntary evacuations for north side of Pampa. Fatalities are up to 7 now and over 200, 000 acres near borger and over 500,000 acres near groomhave burned with all fires still totally out of control. Dozens of structures have been destroyed. total acres burned with all fires is close to 1,000,000 so far!!! Westbound traffic is being diverted south from I-40 to Childress then back west on 287. I-40 is still closed from From to Shamrock"
"The charred bodies of four oilfield workers were found a short distance from their car. A cow that had tried to push through a barbed wire fence was discovered burned alive. And 10,000 other cattle and horses were feared dead across the smoking landscape.
At least 11 people have died and 1,900 others have been forced to evacuate since the weekend. The fires, propelled by winds as high as 55 mph, have raced across more than 1,000 square miles."
Fimpjes:
film 1
Film 2
Film 3
Further reading:
link 1
link 2
link 3
link 4
link 5