City spared worst as twister caught on camera, vast unseen pipe network clears out stormwater

Image courtesy of Kelly Krizan

Where was it? That’s the question to get straight on a tornado that briefly touched down in South Stanley this past June 24, with winds approaching 40 miles an hour and hail due north that rivaled golf balls.

Within an hour after sirens went off in Stanley, the rain, wind and not so big hail blew in.

Blink for a second, and it was gone. But that brings us back to the question, where was it–the tornado, that is. Video taken near Our Lady of Victory Hospital clearly shows a funnel cloud about to touch down north of Highway 29 at 44.95, -90.94 in terms of its geographic coordinates.

Trot on over to Google, mind you, and the official storm chaser coordinates (40.95, -90.94) place it just south of Highway 29 along Sawmill Road, east of the prison. So which was it?

Considering that widespread death and destruction was averted in the maximum 70 mile per hour winds, (thought it’s possible an unused barn on the west side fell in), we’ll leave such questions to the professionals in this matter. So, what’s the local forecast going forward?

If you’re reading this Tuesday night when it hits newsstands, keep your umbrella handy. The National Weather Service is forecasting T-storms, otherwise called thunder and lightning storms.

With an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms and showers plus a low of 54 degrees on Tuesday, this isn’t the time to dance in the rain, however welcome.

Tapering off to a 70 percent chance overnight and a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 a.m. with a projected high of 67 degrees on Wednesday, the night should be cooler, with a low around 51 degrees and mostly cloudy, winds tracking northeast.

Heading in Thursday July 8, the forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny with a high approaching 74, while Thursday night clouds are expected with a 20 percent chance of rain after 1 a.m.

Going into Friday then a chance of showers is to be expected, with thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, and a 50 percent chance of rain. Skipping ahead to Saturday and then Sunday, the forecast calls for alternating “mostly cloudy” and “partly sunny” skies, with a high Saturday and Sunday in the mid-70s.

Showing that temperate weather can be temperamental, a low chance of showers persists through Monday. With more information available at www.forecast.weather. gov, we return briefly to the present continuous, with news that the Yellow River at Cadott–aside from being an important regional drainage channel–has really old rocks exposed to the surface. At one time, there was a marker by the dam visible in online photos, though last time we checked no such marker was there. A tornado did go through, perhaps the time has come to re-erect the monument(s)?

We’ll not get into it, but the one-time marker from 2004 said that the Yellow River rocks were “Precambrian,” or possibly from an old magma chamber. Ancient and long-ago mountains or even lava chamber remains at Cadott? That sounds like something to put on a billboard.

The unsung stormwater drain network at work off First Avenue.

The Boyd skyline after the storm.

The twister just west of the hospital.

A blown off top near the touchdown site.

The grass just across County N by Highway 29.