The Happy Camper: Calculating the Distance of a Storm
On July 4th, 1999, a massive storm swept through the Boundary Waters and Quetico Provincial Park, downing twelve million trees and endangering hundreds of canoeists. Shockingly there were no deaths, but many were injured. Search and rescue teams worked for days to extract people from the interior. Countless stories have been told by the survivors, all of which indicated it was one of the worst sudden storms they’ve ever witnessed. One of the best descriptions was recorded in the Quetico Foundation’s quarterly newsletter by former Park Ranger, Art Madsen, who was paddling with his daughter on Saganaga Lake when the squall hit:
I could see it was coming fast and black clouds had a brown yellowish color under them. Lightning and thunder were flashing all around and wind was really getting up. After a few miles I was following along a rock wall as I know lightning will hit the highest part. Quick as a flash I did not see the lightning but one of the loudest thunder cracks I’d ever heard nearly knocked my ears off. Then I could see this grayish wall of cloud coming fast and knew it would really put down heavy rain. When I crossed by Powells’ place the wind was so strong it was pushing rain horizontally. I was coming into the dock area very fast. My granddaughter rushed out and snubbed my bow rope to the dock. Within minutes the waves became five feet. This was the worst storm in memory.
Art was 94 at the time.
Staying off the water during sudden squalls like this is obviously a smart choice. It’s important to note, however, that it was the broken trees and flying debris that caused most of the injuries in the 1999 hurricane (forecasters only titled it a “straight line windstorm”). Your best bet is to weather such a severe storm out in the open, huddled down in a depression or hollow. In the Boundary Waters and Quetcio, it was the campers who rushed inside their flimsy nylon tents, which were surrounded by falling and uprooting trees, that received the most severe injuries.
On a positive note, squalls rarely last more than 15 minutes (even though it may be the longest 15 minutes of your life). You can also be thankful that the chance of being caught in the worst of it is very limited.
Knowing when the storm is going to reach you is a good skill to have. Take note that thunder is the sound wave created by lightening heating up and then expanding the air around it. So, count the number of seconds (one Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi…) between the flash of lightning and the thunder. Then divide by five. You then have the distance in miles. The reasoning behind this calculation is that sound travels approximately a fifth of a mile per second. For example, in five seconds the strike is one mile away (three seconds per kilometer); 10 seconds it is two miles away; at 25 seconds it’s five miles away; and so on.
More from the Happy Camper:
The Happy Camper: A Sleeping Bag for Lovers
The Happy Camper: Top Canoe Questions Asked (and Answered!)
The Happy Camper: What’s The Best Camp Stove?
