The Vagaries of Wind

Sunday morning I walked to one of the lakes nearby.  I came across these remnants of a downed tree.

On my return trip I realized that the tree that had come down was a healthy one.

Why did the wind choose that one to fall?

We have had two tornadoes in the space of a week in Howard County.  No one was hurt either time but lots of tree damage for both. Though the tornado didn't make it to where I live, the storm did both times.

For the first one neither of us got an alert on our phones.  An announcement was made over the PA system for us to get away from windows and lower the blinds.  Afterward there were new precautions issued that should there be a warning we were to go to the halls.  

When the second warning came on Thursday of this past week, the alerts came on our phones from the weather, text alerts from the staff here, and then announcement over the PA system.  We all gathered in the hall never knowing how bad the storm was to our west.

This poor oak tree felt the brunt on the storm.

But why didn't these dead trees get taken?

After church we took a drive on Sunday to see where the tornado had hit.

This is the Highway Dept headquarters where trees were snapped off but not at ground level.

It crossed this road.  No major house damage that we could see.

Tornadoes are rare here in Maryland.  To have two one week apart is really rare.

For better photos go here.