Nature in east N America is tougher in tooth & nail than the forested areas of the NA west (and west Europe). Some major reasons: 1. Continental climate -- extreme/rapid temp changes. Trunk-bark cracking on the south side killed three ~80' Norway maples at my house from the bitter-cold 76/77 and 77/78 winters. The fourth one that had shade on its trunk from a garage had no problem. 2. Spring/summer violent thunderstorm winds -- especially bad on lush, fully-leafed hardwoods. 3. Wet snow/ice-storms -- more common in E NA. Total snow amounts aren't directly important -- the stickiness is (then the amounts are important). 4. Hurricanes & tropical storms in late summer/autumn. Sandy-storm... 5. Summer high-humidity & associated fungi & bacteria. 6. Winds. Not that the west has slower winds, but larger & more extensive mountains provide more potential shelter. Coastal redwoods get tallest behind shelter of the coastal ranges. The tallest east-coast forests are in sheltered coves of the Smokies. 7. Lightning. Certainly in the US southeast and southern plains, but even in western MD, prb'ly my favorite tree growing up, a 90' Nordmann fir, was mostly (except for one branch) done in by a direct strike. The northwest-exposed sycamore on my lot at 115' is hardly gaining height any more. Not that it doesn't try, but invariably the strongest Tstorm of the summer shreds leaves/new sprouts off the top. But it's spreading out & thickening at a good rate. Where I grew up, a nearby open-grown 350 yr old white oak (8 ft dia) was a mere 90' tall, but over 100' wide. There was no branch damage at the top, just the growth slowing to a crawl there. The lesson for a tree seems to be, if you want to live centuries in eastern NA, keep a relatively low but wide profile, and have trunk-bark thick enough to insulate against freeze-thaw cracking... Prb'ly a dozen of the 100'+ white pines that grow above the canopy have been broken/uprooted & vanquished just downwind of me on the lower slopes in 9 yrs. They need physical shelter and/or a dense, self-protecting "grove", like the original PA stands, to get taller. This prb'ly goes for any tall canopy trees here. I noticed Spruceman's Norway spruce & hemlock stands looked quite dense & got hammered, but that just shows localized extreme events can damage or even destroy any stand no matter what. The 1994 ice-storm in VA caused a whole nearby east-facing slope (at least 30 acres) of mostly 100'+ tuliptrees to uproot. It must have been like dominoes -- the highest-slope trees sagging downslope against their neighbors, finally giving way, then w/the added weight, those trees uprooting, etc, etc, down to the bottom. A sight of carnage just a mile downslope of me. That ice-storm produced four inches of liquid-equivalent sticking to surfaces. 4" liquid is equivalent in weight to ~40" snow -- but all of it sticking.

The NWS has now declared the Philly area the driest on record so far to date. The below from their Public Information Statement yesterday: 000 NOUS41 KPHI 211926 PNSPHI DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054- 055-060>062-067>071-221000- PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 325 PM EDT MON AUG 21 2006 ...A VERY DRY AUGUST 2006 ROLLS ON... THE LACK OF RAIN IN AUGUST 2006, TO DATE, HAS PLACED MANY AREAS IN THE DRIEST AUGUST (OR TIED DRIEST AUGUST) ON RECORD STATUS. 1) THE FOLLOWING ARE RANKINGS OF THE TOP TEN DRIEST AUGUST`S FOR THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE SITES AROUND THE REGION... ...PHILADELPHIA... ...ALLENTOWN... RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR ---- ------------------ ---- ------------------ 1) 0.06 INCHES IN 2006 1) 0.51 INCHES IN 2006 2) 0.46 INCHES IN 1896 2) 0.76 INCHES IN 1995 3) 0.49 INCHES IN 1964 3) 0.91 INCHES IN 1996 4) 0.59 INCHES IN 1895 4) 0.93 INCHES IN 1980 5) 0.65 INCHES IN 1943 5) 1.26 INCHES IN 1964 6) 0.66 INCHES IN 1877 6) 1.39 INCHES IN 1957 7) 0.80 INCHES IN 1980 7) 1.52 INCHES IN 1944 8) 0.89 INCHES IN 1951 8) 1.60 INCHES IN 1981 9) 0.94 INCHES IN 1916 9) 1.69 INCHES IN 1970 10) 0.97 INCHES IN 2001 10) 1.71 INCHES IN 1930 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1872 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1923 ...WILMINGTON... ...ATLANTIC CITY... RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR ---- ------------------ ---- ------------------ 1) 0.06 INCHES IN 2006 1) TRACE IN 2006 2) 0.25 INCHES IN 1972 2) 0.44 INCHES IN 1943 3) 0.46 INCHES IN 1916 2) 0.44 INCHES IN 1972 4) 0.47 INCHES IN 1896 4) 1.02 INCHES IN 2005 5) 1.09 INCHES IN 1980 5) 1.15 INCHES IN 1951 6) 1.12 INCHES IN 1943 6) 1.21 INCHES IN 1916 7) 1.17 INCHES IN 1968 7) 1.27 INCHES IN 1923 8) 1.29 INCHES IN 1983 8) 1.38 INCHES IN 1918 9) 1.35 INCHES IN 2005 9) 1.63 INCHES IN 1964 10) 1.42 INCHES IN 1966 9) 1.63 INCHES IN 1982 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1894 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1906 ...TRENTON... ...READING... RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR RANK PRECIPITATION/YEAR ---- ------------------ ---- ------------------ 1) 0.42 INCHES IN 2006 1) 0.17 INCHES IN 2006 2) 0.47 INCHES IN 1964 1) 0.17 INCHES IN 1995 3) 0.72 INCHES IN 1966 3) 0.28 INCHES IN 1886 4) 0.90 INCHES IN 1984 4) 0.35 INCHES IN 1909 5) 1.10 INCHES IN 1957 5) 0.48 INCHES IN 1896 6) 1.17 INCHES IN 1972 6) 0.56 INCHES IN 1951 7) 1.21 INCHES IN 1896 7) 0.88 INCHES IN 1957 8) 1.52 INCHES IN 1975 8) 1.02 INCHES IN 1881 9) 1.56 INCHES IN 1998 8) 1.02 INCHES IN 1869 10) 1.71 INCHES IN 1912 10) 1.06 INCHES IN 1949 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1893 RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1869 2) BELOW ARE THE TOTAL AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION THAT FELL IN JULY, COMPARED TO WHAT HAS FALLEN IN AUGUST (TO DATE)... WHAT A DIFFERENCE!... LOCATION JULY 2006 PRECIPITATION AUGUST 2006 PRECIPITATION -------- ----------------------- ------------------------- MOUNT POCONO 5.01 INCHES 1.44 INCHES ALLENTOWN 8.17 INCHES 0.51 INCHES READING 5.04 INCHES 0.17 INCHES TRENTON 5.23 INCHES 0.42 INCHES PHILADELPHIA 4.27 INCHES 0.06 INCHES WILMINGTON 6.05 INCHES 0.06 INCHES ATLANTIC CITY 5.20 INCHES TRACE GEORGETOWN 3.28 INCHES 0.05 INCHES 3) THROUGH AUGUST 20TH, HOW IS THE YEAR 2006 LOOKING REGARDING TOTAL PRECIPITATION? BELOW ARE THE DEPARTURES FOR THE YEAR 2006... 2006 PRECIPITATION DEPARTURES LOCATION (ENDING AUGUST 20TH) -------- ----------------------------- MOUNT POCONO +7.06 INCHES ALLENTOWN +2.49 INCHES READING -2.29 INCHES TRENTON +0.97 INCHES PHILADELPHIA -2.69 INCHES WILMINGTON +1.03 INCHES ATLANTIC CITY -1.00 INCHES GEORGETOWN -2.59 INCHES $$ GORSE

Just heard that Oklahoma City got hit bad by this storm with the airport, schools and businesses already closed. Are you doing OK, Oakley? It started snowing here around 3:15PM yesterday and, although we don't have a huge amount of snow, we do have several inches with more to come today. The roads are icy everywhere and DD's school is on a 2 hour delay, but will probably be closed. I'm sitting here waiting to hear that my DH has gotten to work safely. (Sigh) There's always sick people and so he always tries to get in. I worry so much until he gets there and then I worry on his drive back home again. Anyhoo, hoping all of you in the storm's path stay safe and warm. Lynn

Unfortunately, rain isn't a friend of homeowners who live in close proximity to beautiful streams, etc. When there aren't storms, it is a beautiful setting, but when we get heavy rain, it's been a huge problem. Over-building in a formerly farmland-type area has left little in the way of "buffers" that has protected us from this kind of flooding (have been here 25 yrs.), and it has only been in the last couple of years that we've encountered this level of flooding when a nor'easter blows through. I get that everyone wants to live in a rural area, but once the developers buy loads of acreage on which to build custom McMansions with substantial sized lots, along with many nice sized housing "developments", the former attraction is really lost. Watching the weather closely, I know we are in for alot of rain here in the Mid-Atlantic. While we thought Irene was awful, this storm is alot different, and will inflict much more flooding. joshuasamah, ugh, that picture makes me ill. I have a very good friend who lives on SI. She a child with serious healthcare needs which require being able to access medical equipment in her home. Going to a shelter would be a nightmare for her family. Don't get me wrong, the fact that there are shelters for the displaced are a lifesaver, but when you have to deal with having a child with a need for medical equipment, it is really tough. We've moved everything possible to our 2nd floor. Irene flooded us badly, but it didn't flood our first floor. Realistically, we are unlikely to escape that luxury with Sandy. Oh, and to make things a bit more complicated, my closest neighbor has decided it's been fun to watch 3 beavers build a dam and lodge on her property. What she and her DH don't realize, is that her entertainment has the propensity to put us in a bigger quandry than we are already. Another story for a different thread, lol. Everyone please stay safe!