round bail "rollers"

[John Cameron]

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.

 

[Shawn Rutherford]

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:

 

[Michael P. Morris]

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!!

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

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: