The 'Derecho'.. one of nature's timber feller..

[chain]

In May of 2009 a cluster of T-storms struck SE Missouri, winds of 60-90mph with reports of tornados inside the main cluster of storms dozed down an estiimated 33million bf of timber, mostly oak. This type of wind storm called a 'derecho'.

I know a logger who lives near the center of the swath of the storm, he stated to me that the winds blew for a hour in nearly every direction, that some observers surmised the storm complex formed it's own cyclone. Interestingly, this storm complex followed nearly the same path as the infamous, 'Tri-State tornado' that tore through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in a March afternoon in 1925, and F-5 twister that stands today as the most devastating in lives and property loss in modern times.

Many of you have experienced tornado damage and hurricanes that can be far more critical in damages. But, looking from the loggers veiwpoint, is this force of nature feast or famine, in that your salvaging work of downed and damaged timber profitable?

[pineywoods]

You would think Massive blow-downs of timber could be a bonanza for loggers. In reality, that's not quite the case. Lots of trees, yes, but they are usually tangled and intertwined with big root balls and spring poles everywhere. Salvage is mostly a matter of a man and a chain saw. Not much way to use heavy equipment. Lots of dangerous situations not found in normal logging. My church supports an organization that has 2 volunteer disaster clean-up crews. So far nobody has gotten hurt, but there's been some hairy situations.  Be carefull

[John Mc]

I remember hiking in the Adirondak mountains of upstate New York a month or so after a Derecho hit. One person described the storm to me as a "tornado, without the twist". Very high speed, straight-line winds. When I walked through, the devastation to the forest was amazing. One minute, you'd be hiking along through normal-looking forest, the next you'd be in a swath that looked as though someone ran a comb through it. Everything was flattened, but it was all laid out in straight, parallel lines.

That an driving through Mississippi a few weeks after hurricane Katrina hit are two scenes I will never forget.

John Mc

[barbender]

The big storm that hit the boundary waters area in northern minnesota was like that, straight line winds that just leveled the forest. It's still laying there too, what hasn't burned.

[forest.c]

Derecho is that the same as a micro burst?

[John Mc]

Derecho is that the same as a micro burst?

No, a microburst is a very localized event. It's basically a severe downdraft which spreads when it hits the ground. The winds generally fan out in all directions from the center. Some of these are quite small - I saw the after-affects of one at an airport near Kansas City. Several small aircraft had been ripped from their tie-downs, while others just 100 ft away were fine.

A derecho is usually a much larger event. Think if the miles long path a tornado can make when it touches down, except instead of swirling winds, a derecho has straight-line winds. (The one I saw the damage from in upstate NY supposedly had steady winds - not just peak gusts - in excess of 100 mph.)

John Mc

[forest.c]

ok thanks first time i ever heard of it

[Bobus2003]

We had a Tornado up north of me in the Bear Lodge Mtn's in Wyoming.. They put out a Immediate statement on the news for Fire Wood cutters to keep out cause it was gonna be a salvage project.. They went in with Timbcos and Skidders and last I heard pulled almost 500 loads out of the mile by mile and half swath.. With the "pick-up sticks" mess that was left they wern't in any hurry to send in hand fellers

[Ed]

Had a local volunteer killed a couple of years ago doing tornado clean-up. He cut the top off a downed tree, the rootball stood the tree up, killing him instantly.
I've done storm clean-up myself, it's not for the inexperienced.

Ed

[timber tramp]

>>I've done storm clean-up myself, it's not for the inexperienced


  Amen to that.                TT

[chain]

There's no doubt the uprooting & twisting effects of a tornado are more severe to timber in damage. I witnessed a tornado snapping off cottonwoods, the trees left standing were even busted and cracked.

To the forestowner, wind -downed trees will make you feel ill as decades of management go down the drain let alone the loss in monetary values from promising grade-veneer timber. Remarkablly, as I've toured a part of the area of damage, is that some stands of oak were blown down as if you had a diameter-limit harvest, the winds uprooting all trees over 14" or so. In other areas trees are wind-thrown haphazardly, no place for the inexperienced or unmotivated logger.

[chainspinrunner]

John Mc,

Where abouts were you in the ADKs? I have been studying a site exactly like what you explain for the past two years. I am now doing a research project on regeneration, and using this area as a study site. If it is in the same area i will try to post some pics!
   G.Rose

[John Mc]

John Mc,

Where abouts were you in the ADKs? I have been studying a site exactly like what you explain for the past two years. I am now doing a research project on regeneration, and using this area as a study site. If it is in the same area i will try to post some pics!
   G.Rose

It's been so long ago, I don't remember. I used to keep a log of all my hikes, but seem to have lost it in one of my moves. I know was in the Adirondack State Park - I hiked all over it in those days (late '80's to mid '90's). If you tell me your study site, I might recognize the name. I wish I did remember where it was, because I've wanted to revisit it to see how it recovered.

John Mc

[chainspinrunner]

Forest Home road? Lake Colby area Saranac Lake. This was a more recent blowdown, so it probably is a different area. I will try to post some pics anyways.

[maple flats]

Back in Sept 1998 in a small woodlot near my property there was something similar to this. It took down all trees in about an area of about 250' x 150'. Very few trees outside that eara were downed except a few up rootings of mainly hemlock. The main area was mostly very large Cherry and a few sugar maples and ash. The trees were strewn in all directions and intertwined. There were several cherries with bottom one and many 2 logs of prime or veneer grade (before the storm). I tried to scale the biggest ones just for giggles while hunting deer one day and I found 15 trees over 800 BF in this area, mostly cherry. (I have posted this before someplace on this forum). I talked to the land owner and he was not interested in having anyone salvage what they could. What a shame. He died now and the trees are just rotting there. My impression was the landowner thought a logger would not pay the true value.

[stonebroke]

I remember that 1998 storm. The trees in the back yard were bent over at a 45% angle. Strongest winds I ever saw. The trees came back after it stopped though. no permanent damage.

Stonebroke

[twobears]

 a derecho and mirco burst are the same thing just on a much better scale.i lived thur and helped clean up the storm john mc talks about.
 that summer was really hot and dry.we could tell something big was building.the night before the sky looked funny and everybody thought it was getting hard to breath.i wokeup at daylight with a very uneasy feeling.the storm only lasted a few minutes..15 or so but it was very violent.of course very high winds,non stop lighting and rain like you,ve never seen before.
 that storm took down trees like they where nothing.likes been said it would skip some ares and totally clean others.i was fulltime logging back then and my bosses family had a 25,000 tap sugarbush.we where working just outta my town and right where we where cutting only had a few trees blown over.but,there sugarbush didn,t fair so well.every tree over 8 inches got knocked over.we had four crews with 11 skidders and other equipment in there for over a year picking it up.i was the landing man on that job..sitting in the hood 2400 i could see for over a mile and most every tree was down.
it wasn,t to bad to pickup tho the trees just layed down not tangled together.we just had to cut them kinda in order.the bad part was all the big tree stumps laying on the ground made it tough to get around with a skidder.the timco op had to move alot of them into piles.another bad thing is it split the trees.i,de cut the first log and it would be ok,the second log was cracked in the middle the third log fell apart in two pieces.
 i took a trip up there last summer..it was sicking.it looks like a grown over farm feild with pine and grey birch.the pines are around 20/30 feet tall.i thought it would grow back in hardwood.

 delbert

[stonebroke]

It will eventually. Come back in one hundred years.

Stonebroke