• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

round bail "rollers"

Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Messages
161
Location
Burkburnett, Texas
What wind velocities does it take to send a round hay bail into motion? Seeing as how these types of winds are spawned by thunderstorms, some of these hay bails could be wet. I'm fascinated by these"rollers" as seen in aerial photographs. :o
 
From a country boy

somewhat depends on the age of the hay... if it was freshly cut/bailed... it's still VERY round, but after 6 months or so, it's going to flatten-out at the base...

a fresh round bail is rather easy to push, but STILL is impressive to have been pushed by wind. :shock:
 
If you are referring to the May 29 Oklahoma storm (which produced a lot of this) I would say 60 miles and hour. I was chasing that storm myself and I will admit the inflow was strong enough to make driving a bit of a challenge on I-40!!
 
How Heavy??

I second the thought by Shawn, it would depend on the age of the bale. It would also depend on what and when it was baled. Straw bales are usually the lightest right after they have been cut and baled. Still they would weigh around 300-400 lbs depending on the size. Logically in order for the strong winds of a thunderstorm (staight line gust or downdraft) to be able to "roll" the bales, it would have to be aligned with the outside wheel part. If the winds blows into either of its flat sides, the bale will just flop over. Also you have to have the proper terrain (uphill, downhill, sidehill, etc.) to enable the winds to roll the bales. Of course, if a F-3 or stronger tornado comes along, the bales doesn't roll, they FLY!! :shock:

P.S. You can ask people how many shopping carts they have seen flying out of a parking lot and being pushed by a strong wind!! I have!! I had a run-in with a shopping cart coming out of a parking lot when I turned in to a grocery store in CO years ago. It dinged the front left fender of my car and I talked to the manager of the store about it. :evil:
 
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