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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Listening Point - General Discussion A look back at the 1999 Derecho storm |
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07/05/2018 04:56PM
I was at a campground for a week on Farm Lake in August that year. Me and my young son took a float plane ride and got to see the blow down from the air. I remember a female pilot who gave lots of good info about the storm. I didn't realize the devastation as this was before message boards. It literally looked like matchsticks all over the ground. It was incredible.
"Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." --- George Bernard Shaw
07/05/2018 05:12PM
Lake Three, just about to toss the first cast when I notice the rod tips are buzzing like a mad horsefly. The other canoe has just arrived to join us. "Time to head back to camp boys."
"What?,Why?"
"Put your rod tips in the air."
"HOLY SHIAT!!! WTF IS THAT!!!!"
"That is our warning."
Just then we heard our first faint rumble in the distance and paddled 5 minutes back to camp. There we made sure everything was ready for a storm. Told the other guys I was riding it out down by the shoreline, and to watch out for trees.
"Yea........lightning."
"Nope.......getting squished."
I'll never forget those first few downbursts of wind. They were picking up Olympic pool sized sheets of water off of the surface of the lake and propelling it forward 50ft in the air. Pure power.
We had a few trees down around camp, one tent took a glancing blow.
But everything survived.
We were out fishing again a half hour after it passed, then the float planes started going by overhead and we knew that we were the lucky ones.
And yes, it poured all night from a second storm.
"What?,Why?"
"Put your rod tips in the air."
"HOLY SHIAT!!! WTF IS THAT!!!!"
"That is our warning."
Just then we heard our first faint rumble in the distance and paddled 5 minutes back to camp. There we made sure everything was ready for a storm. Told the other guys I was riding it out down by the shoreline, and to watch out for trees.
"Yea........lightning."
"Nope.......getting squished."
I'll never forget those first few downbursts of wind. They were picking up Olympic pool sized sheets of water off of the surface of the lake and propelling it forward 50ft in the air. Pure power.
We had a few trees down around camp, one tent took a glancing blow.
But everything survived.
We were out fishing again a half hour after it passed, then the float planes started going by overhead and we knew that we were the lucky ones.
And yes, it poured all night from a second storm.
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