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Wind gusts cause sporadic damage

The Republican Herald|Shawn A. Hessinger|March 7, 2007
PennsylvaniaGeneralTechnology

Wind gusts throughout the county Monday and Tuesday caused some damage, however there were no major problems, according to Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency. “A couple of trees. No power outages,” emergency management Coordinator Arthur D. Kaplan said Tuesday............Joe Green, project director for the Locust Ridge Wind Farm in Mahanoy and East Union Townships said gusts blowing through the region Monday and Tuesday would not be problematic for the 13 wind turbines that now generate power at the facility. “Extremely high winds might be a problem,” Green said, but added that when buffeted by gusts higher than 55 mph, the immense 407 foot high turbines simply stop operating. “Blowing over isn’t an issue,” Green said. He said at wind gusts above 24 mph the turbines have already reached maximum output capacity and cannot use the additional energy created anyway. Instead, Green said gusts too high can damage the gears and other internal mechanisms used to move the giant 135-foot long blades that chop the air, generating the energy the wind farm produces.


Wind gusts throughout the county Monday and Tuesday caused some damage, however there were no major problems, according to Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency.
 
“A couple of trees. No power outages,” emergency management Coordinator Arthur D. Kaplan said Tuesday.

A National Weather Service forecaster said Monday’s strong northwest winds, from 2 p.m. to midnight, reached between 40 and 50 mph. Meteorologist Barry Lambert of the NWS, State College, said the winds followed an arctic cold front traveling southeast from the Great Lakes, creating Monday’s snow squalls in some areas.

Just like the air pressure is different inside and outside of a tire when you prick it, Lambert explained, the arrival of the weather system …

... more [truncated due to possible copyright]

Wind gusts throughout the county Monday and Tuesday caused some damage, however there were no major problems, according to Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency.
 
“A couple of trees. No power outages,” emergency management Coordinator Arthur D. Kaplan said Tuesday.

A National Weather Service forecaster said Monday’s strong northwest winds, from 2 p.m. to midnight, reached between 40 and 50 mph. Meteorologist Barry Lambert of the NWS, State College, said the winds followed an arctic cold front traveling southeast from the Great Lakes, creating Monday’s snow squalls in some areas.

Just like the air pressure is different inside and outside of a tire when you prick it, Lambert explained, the arrival of the weather system produced low pressure resulting in air movement in the atmosphere, causing NWS to issue a wind advisory for the region.

Toni Rist, manager at Wendy’s Old Fashion Hamburgers, Pottsville, came to work at 6:40 a.m. Tuesday to find the large display sign in front of the restaurant on Route 61 across from Fairlane Village mall shattered by the strong winds.

“We assume it happened sometime during the night,” said Rist, who estimated she left the restaurant at 2 p.m. Monday. “When I left yesterday it was fine and then when I got here this morning it was in pieces.”

She said her staff estimates the front of the sign was blown down and broken by strong gusts of wind sometime between 2 a.m. Tuesday and her arrival later in the morning.

“Our night manager didn’t notice it when she left last night or she would have called,” said Rist, who added she doesn’t know how long it will be until the sign is repaired.

Kaplan said wind damage has not been unheard of in the county historically including the touchdown of a few tornadoes.

“We have had some damage from straight winds in the past. I wouldn’t say it’s routine and I wouldn’t say it’s frequent by any means,” Kaplan said.

“It was a very windy day but it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before in the area during late winter,” Lambert said.

Joe Green, project director for the Locust Ridge Wind Farm in Mahanoy and East Union Townships said gusts blowing through the region Monday and Tuesday would not be problematic for the 13 wind turbines that now generate power at the facility.

“Extremely high winds might be a problem,” Green said, but added that when buffeted by gusts higher than 55 mph, the immense 407 foot high turbines simply stop operating.

“Blowing over isn’t an issue,” Green said. He said at wind gusts above 24 mph the turbines have already reached maximum output capacity and cannot use the additional energy created anyway.

Instead, Green said gusts too high can damage the gears and other internal mechanisms used to move the giant 135-foot long blades that chop the air, generating the energy the wind farm produces.


Source:http://www.republicanherald.c…

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