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-   -   STORM RIDERS (http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=637)

ricki 07-08-2005 11:05 PM

STORM RIDERS
 
The following is a repost from http://fksa.org/:

Quote:

Going to be a wild weekend in Florida! See you all out there!

boost


SATURDAY
SOUTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS. SEAS 7 TO 8 FEET.
INTRACOASTAL WATERS ROUGH. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

SATURDAY NIGHT
SOUTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS. SEAS 6 TO
9 FEET. INTRACOASTAL WATERS ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

SUNDAY
SOUTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS. SEAS 6 TO 8 FEET.
INTRACOASTAL WATERS ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

SUNDAY NIGHT
SOUTH WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS 3 TO 5 FEET.
INTRACOASTAL WATERS CHOPPY. SCATTERED SHOWERS.


IF, folks decide to kiteboard be sure to checkout color radar, real time wind and hazard forecast carefully. More ideas about this at: http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=130 Last year some guys even had laptops by the beach on aircards to monitor incoming squalls. They picked launches with large gaps between squalls and feeder bands. If it looked like something was coming in, they came in and secured a long time before any change in wind, temperature happened. Having airhorns to warn riders would be a good idea for those that choose to risk it. Even with color radar and visual observation your risk of serious injury goes up in such weather, obviously.

This is SERIOUS stuff guys. There was a rider killed in Utah and another killed in Okinawa by violent weather both quite recently. The fatality in Okinawa may have been related to a nearby Typhoon (hurricane in this hemisphere). This sort of weather is full of downbursts. Lots more about this hazard at: http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=801

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album14/WUNIDS.gif
A sad record from last summer.

See those feeder bands, the ones with the bright colors? Those can toss out violent gust spikes, 20, 30 to 50 + knots ABOVE background windspeed. THESE ARE COMMON IN TROPICAL SYSTEMS. An example appears below:

http://gallery.kiteforum.com/albums/...7_00.sized.gif

Guys have already died and come close to it establishing the hazards of riding in unstable and tropical weather systems. Try to learn from the past or be fated to repeat it. More about an EARLY case of storm related lofting and injury at: http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=210

Experienced kiters/windsurfers in Europe go out on windsurfers when excessively gusty wind comes along. It is harder to get lofted 100 ft. plus on a windsurfer.

Be careful out there better still, live to kite another day.

ricki 07-08-2005 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyletbowl
no offense intended, but hope that puppy makes it all the way north with some real nice 20-30mph winds. sunday would be good.

Absolutely, real nice winds for some folks would be good. Some of us will likely take a bad hit from this and other storms and some guys will have useable riding conditions. You might get hit by derecho's* that miss the south. That is the way of the world.

Just take the time to scope things out first to verify that squalls aren't embedded in things. You will recall the number of squalls, tornados produced by tropical cyclones as they eased inland in the past northward throught the USA.

There is an interesting article about "Great Lakes Hurricanes" from the NWS, a quote from which appears below:

"Windstorm: An intense tropical cyclone moving up from the Gulf thru eastern Texas (causing great damage in Texas), along the Missip. Valley and thence Newd across Ill & Mich, passing W & NW of Detroit with gale force winds and gusts to 65 mph from 10:18 AM - 2:30 PM & gusts to 75 mph 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (see envelope back of book for newspaper clippings). "


The complete article appears at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/?page=stories/dtxcane

Also, be on the lookout for derecho's*. " (pronounced similar to "deh-RAY-cho" in English or pronounced phonetically as "") is a widespread and long lived windstorm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms." These are NOT THAT UNCOMMON in inland areas.

"How strong are derecho winds?

By definition winds in a derecho must meet the National Weather Service criterion for severe wind gusts (greater than 57 mph) at most points along the derecho path. In the stronger derecho events winds can exceed 100 mph. For example, as a derecho roared through northern Wisconsin on July 4, 1977, winds of 115 mph were measured. More recently, the derecho which swept across Wisconsin and Lower Michigan during the early morning hours of May 31, 1998 produced a measured wind gust of 128 mph in eastern Wisconsin and estimated gusts up to 130 mph in Lower Michigan."


The complete article appears at:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts

ricki 07-08-2005 11:06 PM

This isn't about building fear, although a healthy respect can create significant survival value. These articles are about building hazard awareness, appreciation and ideas for avoiding them.

Would you go ice kiteboarding in a spring thaw on thin ice close to a wide fissure of surface water? Some guys, say from Florida, might.

Would an experienced pilot voluntarily fly into a violent storm cloud?

Would an informed person hold a softball game for kids in an obviously threatening powerful lightning storm?

These could go on for hours. You get the idea.

We need to know weather to kiteboard, both for what to look for and what to avoid.

ricki 07-08-2005 11:07 PM

I went out tonight after work for a while. I first looked at the color radar and noticed a large, 70 mile plus long corridor free of squalls. The area to the south over the Keys and Miami-Dade County was quite a different matter as you can see.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/...and_squall.gif

I went off of Delray underneath the "95" symbol below West Palm Beach.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/Jupiter.gif
I also checked the realtime wind on ikitesurf.com to see if any unstable high wind gusts or direction changes were going on. Didn't see any here, this station reads about 4 to 5 mph higher than Delray by the way. So, between the color radar, the long free corridor of squalls and fairly stable realtime winds I had at it.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/Biscayne.gif
Different story further south in Miami. How would you like to be rigged for winds at around 4 pm, say with a 14 m. Lets say you stay out until 5.30 pm to get spiked by a 50 mph+ squall gust? You might get some great air but then there is the landing to think about, well inland and likely against something hard.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/Crandon.gif
Things went off at Crandon this evening as well as well as throughout the Keys with dangerous gusts in frequent squalls.

ricki 07-08-2005 11:08 PM

So, I went to Delray checked out things. The sky was partially cloudy but lacked any obviously threatening clouds. I asked some of the guys what size they had been riding and was told 10 m kites. Well as it happened I had a new 10 m with me that I wanted to try out. I was a little underpowered at times but eventually the wind filled in a bit and I reasonably powered most of the time. It was a fairly technical session particularly with the waves and uneven wind.

I came in about 8 pm and put my gear away. I had noticed some slightly darker clouds moving in and thought it would be good to call it a day. Driving south about 8.30 pm the wind boosted to about 50 mph, viz dropped with driving rain. I think I caught this squall on radar, see below.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/...and_squall.gif
It is that fairly small lump of red, yellow, green passing out from the "95" symbol. I have seen violent, dangerous squalls that show up even smaller than that on the radar. Scale is relative which is worth remembering.

Tomorrow is another day and with luck the storm may not strengthen. As it moves north the squalls in the feeder bands will continue to rake over the peninsula of Florida. Lots of microburst and tornado opportunities in this system. A big part of this part of the state is under a tornado watch for most of the coming night. There may not be anything close to a clear corridor like what developed off of Delray this evening. So, it may not be rideable, at least not in my book.

Do your homework and think carefully about whether to ride or not. I believe some guys were probably out in Miami complete with squalls. Life and kiteboarding can be a numbers game. Make an informed "wager" based upon readily available information and pick your own venue/terms or bet like a fool? Players choice, choose well and as Toby says, live to kite another day.

Good luck to the people impacted by this hurricane.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/...im_tribune.gif



NOTE: The following images, regional color radar and satellite should update continuously allowing you to watch the movement of the hurricane and feeder bands.

http://www.wunderground.com/data/640...im_tribune.gif

http://www.wunderground.com/data/640...g1_ir_anim.gif

ricki 07-09-2005 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansurf1
Rick, can you point me towards a site that i can get a radar image for earlier this evening.....I want to see what we were hit with this evening...say 6:30 - 7:00....

I checked the radar as i ran out the door late today.....looked clear from MIA past Jupiter....with a line that looked well offshore 40Miles?...looked like it should have skirted us at Palm Beach Island....but it didn't....

watched some clouds get dark and light around the edge....real low....ugly looking shit....4 of us hit the beach within a minute of each other.....one assisted landing and 3 to leash....12M's & an 8M

It went from about 20-25 to 50+ in less then a minute......and lasted a few minutes....

spooky....haven't been that close or hit that hard in a long time....lesson learned....again....

I hope everybody ridng the last few days in Fl has faired well.....there have been some ugly spikes

Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out the GIS NWS application that MAY have fairly good resolution archived radar images. There is an internet site but the resolution is very poor. I normally try to grab images from the following two sites as soon as possible:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/radar/latest.../si.kamx.shtml
http://weather.sun-sentinel.com/rada...MX19&type=loop

I just checked and it looks like there is something nasty blowing through your area now, but I can't find traces from 3 or so hours ago.

I did catch some nasty spikes on ikitesurf at Jupiter that probably represent what hit you guys.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/Jupiter_7_9_05.gif

I am glad you guys were watching approaching weather and reacted before the squall gusts hit. It is always good to look to where the clouds are coming from on a regular basis and to note any changes. The clouds that brought 50 mph gusts last night were not that evil looking at all. They were just a bit darker from what had been blowing through all day.

Checking color radar before you go out helps but as you experienced things can change. I check the color radar on my telephone just before setting up and on the odd break.

Riding in areas under the influence of tropical weather systems, particularly hurricanes always carries higher risk. The internet aids can work to reduce it but some will still be there. If nothing else the riding conditions can be fairly challenging. All that heavy irregular surf in our area combined with pronounced lulls and gusts even without squalls.

Reposted from kiteforum.com

ricki 07-09-2005 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansurf1
Rick, can you point me towards a site that i can get a radar image for earlier this evening.....I want to see what we were hit with this evening...say 6:30 - 7:00....

I checked the radar as i ran out the door late today.....looked clear from MIA past Jupiter....with a line that looked well offshore 40Miles?...looked like it should have skirted us at Palm Beach Island....but it didn't....

watched some clouds get dark and light around the edge....real low....ugly looking shit....4 of us hit the beach within a minute of each other.....one assisted landing and 3 to leash....12M's & an 8M

It went from about 20-25 to 50+ in less then a minute......and lasted a few minutes....

spooky....haven't been that close or hit that hard in a long time....lesson learned....again....

I hope everybody ridng the last few days in Fl has faired well.....there have been some ugly spikes

Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out the GIS NWS application that MAY have fairly good resolution archived radar images. There is an internet site but the resolution is very poor. I normally try to grab images from the following two sites as soon as possible:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/radar/latest.../si.kamx.shtml
http://weather.sun-sentinel.com/rada...MX19&type=loop

I just checked and it looks like there is something nasty blowing through your area now, but I can't find traces from 3 or so hours ago.

I did catch some nasty spikes on ikitesurf at Jupiter that probably represent what hit you guys.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/Jupiter_7_9_05.gif

I am glad you guys were watching approaching weather and reacted before the squall gusts hit. It is always good to look to where the clouds are coming from on a regular basis and to note any changes. The clouds that brought 50 mph gusts last night were not that evil looking at all. They were just a bit darker from what had been blowing through all day.

Checking color radar before you go out helps but as you experienced things can change. I check the color radar on my telephone just before setting up and on the odd break.

Riding in areas under the influence of tropical weather systems, particularly hurricanes always carries higher risk. The internet aids can work to reduce it but some will still be there. If nothing else the riding conditions can be fairly challenging. All that heavy irregular surf in our area combined with pronounced lulls and gusts even without squalls.

Reposted from kiteforum.com

ricki 07-09-2005 10:53 PM

There was a large gap between squall lines and feeder bands on color radar and satellite imagery today so it looked OK to go kiteboarding. The realtime winds were fairly steady in the area as well. I went out in the morning and came in around 2 pm. The account above describes some powerful squalls that came through later on. Some photos from the morning follow from Delray:

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/4_G.sized.jpg
Some nice surf was running.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/3_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/5_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/1_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/2_G.sized.jpg
Stacy from Best gets ready to head out.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/6_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/8_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/9_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/10_G.sized.jpg

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album125/7_G.sized.jpg

It wasn't all fun and games however. The conditions were fairly challenging with strong gusts, extended lulls and a lot of ragged, large irregular surf to try to pile through. I missed seeing the accident but I understand one very experienced rider dropped his kite on the water, a wave may have washed him into his lines and his kite, a 5 m, relaunched. I understand his ankle was broken as a result. At least it wasn't severely cut which can happen.

Hurricane riding has its risks, ranging from TOO MANY with squalls to a higher level of hazard than normal sessions even with weather planning, monitoring, safety gear, careful kite size selection, etc..

ricki 07-12-2005 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansurf1
Thanks Rick...the verbal reminders of yours are always better then the actual....

Not all of the choices we made hitting the beach were the best....should have come in earlier first off....

Sketchy weather is just that...no matter how you slice it....

PBI airport wind sensor about 4 miles away doesn't even show it....

uhm....wrong place...wrong time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GK
Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansurf1
Rick, can you point me towards a site that i can get a radar image for earlier this evening.....I want to see what we were hit with this evening...say 6:30 - 7:00....

Hey Ryan, up in Ft. Pierce we got slammed with the same shit around 7:00. Went from a nice 20+ to well over 60 in a matter of seconds. I looked over my shoulder and saw the line moving from the south and figured I had a few more runs. Next thing I new I had the darkest clouds I have ever seen bearing down with a vengeance. I yelled at my buddy and we both hit the beach with enough time to jump on our kites and ride out the freak show!
There were about 10 of us on the beach trying to hold down a ton of gear as the wind took anything that wasn't tied down. We kept thinking it was a tornado but you couldnt turn to look because there was so much sand blowing. It lasted about 15 minutes and then the rain started. One guy was still on the water, and his kite was whipped around like a rag until he pulled his release. The kite blew away and by the time I left he hadn't found it yet. If anyone in the Cocoa Beach area finds a blue and white Takoon 11.5, it belongs to Dale. I'm sure he's quite happy to be alive!
GK

Hello Greg and Ryan,

I saw a shelf cloud off of Key West on TV yesterday. They can look pretty evil. I just came in from a session today a little while ago. It looked like there was a poorly organized one of these things moving up from the south.

Did your clouds resemble any of these photos?

http://www.harkphoto.com/shelf.jpeg
From: http://www.harkphoto.com/

http://gallery.kiteforum.com/albums/..._2_s.sized.jpg
From: fksa.org

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthu...helfcld-sh.jpg
From: http://www.boatnerd.com/
If a shelf cloud goes to sea, it can have this appearence from the shore. Eventually the lower cloud ring breaks up into segments.

The shelf clouds can bring major problems hail, microbursts and gusts out the wazoo. More about them at:
http://www.chaseday.com/wind.htm

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

ricki 07-12-2005 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansurf1
yeah Greg...it was intense...sudden...

everbody had a rather dumb look on their face for the first minute...as they were laying on kites being sandblasted....

Rick...it was similar in appearance to the first photo.....very dark...low...and the east face very bright from reflecting more light....

I remember clearly on radar...what i think was....the cloud/weather band.....60 miles long and 40 miles off shore...very thin....

Just a friendly reminding slap from Mother Nature.....hopefully i will make better judgement calls for a while.....

Hello Ryan,

Thanks for the confirmation. A few hours later I did notice two long, very thin and apparently violent squall lines blow through your area on the radar. Perhaps it was more of the same only earlier. This stuff on radar can appear to be VERY small but it can by several miles across at the beach with plenty of power to shred your session.

There was some similar weather from Dennis photographed in the Panhandle of Florida, like ...

http://icons.wunderground.com/data/w...rpeavley/6.jpg

http://icons.wunderground.com/data/w...rpeavley/5.jpg
Photos from: http://icons.wunderground.com/

Question, did other kiterboarders have some squall problems during Dennis or other tropical weather systems?

If so, what warned you of the pending change in conditions and what did you do?

ricki 06-10-2006 05:22 AM

Tropical systems are moving through again. Some ideas about looking for large enough gaps between squall lines and unstable weather through radar, satellite images and visible conditions appear above. The story and images about the evening Delray session above are worth looking over and thinking about carefully. Despite such precautions hazardous weather can pop up with minimal warning in such conditions and those 20 to 50 knot gust spikes above background wind can really trash your day. They happen commonly in tropical system squalls in Florida as most of us know. Just because it's blow'in, doesn't mean it's necessarily worth going (kiting).

ricki 08-16-2008 11:17 PM

Seems like that time of year again. Here's some good stuff to read and think over to help with choosing riding conditions.


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