80MPH Winds and Hail Hit Midwest

I'm on the east coast, but is hurricane force winds typical in the midwest this time of year?

(AP) -- Thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity Wednesday in the path of a long line of thunderstorms that stretched from Tennessee to the Great Lakes.

Wind gusted to 80 mph in Kentucky and Tennessee on Tuesday, and hail stones as big as softballs were reported in parts of Illinois, the National Weather Service said.

Full story HERE

[edit on 14-7-2004 by deeprivergal]

Well, I was near ground zero for this one, in east central Illinois. Tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms are common. Warning sirens were going off yesterday and I actually lost my power for about 10 hours. I'd say in an average year we see about 5 tornado warnings in my county. I've seen tornado warnings in the general area as early as mid-February, and as late as October, but they are most common in April, May, and June. Bottom line, hurricane-force winds in storms are fairly common.

I am glad that you are o.k.!

I heard a meterologist on the weather channel claim that it was rather unusual to have a forecast with highs in the 60's for some of the northern states this far into summer.

Now, if we can maybe negotiate a deal to get some of that cool air down south... that would make me happy.

I have to go with Eastern_Diamondback on this one. I live in southeastern Iowa, and it's really not that uncommon to have hail that large or winds that strong this time of year. I spent most of April, May, and about half of June hanging out in my grandmother's basement because of high winds and tornado warnings.

orionthehunter--I'd be glad to have some of that 60 degree weather too. The past two days here it's been pushing 100 degrees with humidity in the upper 90% range. Talk about hell on earth.

Exactly. I've gotten so used to it that i don't even go into the basement unless it appears a really vicious storm will be within a few miles of me. I even slept through a tornado warning siren back in April. It was especially hot that day and I was tired. I decided to take a late afternoon nap, and I turned on my ac. The drone of the ac drowned out the sound of the siren. I woke up in the early evening, turned on my tv and found out a tornado had passed by about 5 miles north of me!

But the warning are routine. I appreciate your concern, ladyspirit guide.