A week after the very memorable Memorial Day windstorm, it is time for a little perspective. The highest measured wind gust was 72 mph at the airport. Damage around town suggests local wind gusts perhaps nearing 100 mph in a few spots.
But our storm was a gentle breeze compared to the EF4 and EF5 tornado damage this spring in Joplin and Tuscaloosa and other places. Wind speeds here were 70-100 mph. EF4 winds range from 166 to 200 mph. EF5 winds exceed 200 mph. So imagine our storm with wind twice as strong or more. Fargo Moorhead lost a few trees. Many trees lost a few branches. A few roofs were partially torn away.
In Joplin, entire neighborhoods have no evidence there ever were trees and countless houses can be identified only by their foundations. We had a bad storm and we?re still cleaning up, but no one died and our world is essentially the same as it was before the storm. Not so for other places.