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Storm Malik and a near miss

Madriverrob

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@Bopdude and I were out last night supposedly for a two nighter , had to change location due to Storm Malik and thought we’d found ourselves a good spot … it was windy but we were doing ok , few beers , some decent grub and a nice fire 🔥.

It was getting gradually windier so we turned in early …..

Windy throughout the night but we both slept well despite the gales and creaking trees.

About half seven this morning I popped my head out for a look see and as I did heard a crack …. The tree missed the tent by six inches as I dived for cover … how it missed I don’t know but it’s the closest I’ve been to a widow maker .

We decided we couldn’t stay in that location but were struggling to find an alternative that wasn’t being battered by the wind .
After much deliberation we decided to call it and run for home , a good night out and a lucky escape but at least I’m alive and my Hilleberg wasn’t damaged 🙄😬🙏

There will be a next time ….
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Too bloody close for comfort. The crown of a pine might look like the flimsiest bit of the tree but there is the whole weight of the tree acting on it and the tip of the tree is usually moving quite quickly when it hits….
Glad you’re still with us to tell the tale.
 
We were not far from RAF Fylingdales 😬
Did you mean Flyindales?

Glad your tent’s alright. 🤣

Out of interest which way did the tree drop - with the prevailing wind?

For years now when setting up for an overnighter if the forecast predicts high winds I’ve headed for a dense birch block as opposed to areas with ’big’ trees and shallow rooted ones (larch for example), on the premise that if any go over a) they‘ll possibly hit/hang up on each other before hitting me, b) they might be less likely to kill/inflict serious injury (though I take Ystranc’s point) c) be less likely to trap you (if you survive!).

I’ve also taken to setting up a diagonal length of para cord above my shelter in the belief that it might deflect deadfall/wind blown material (look-up before pitching!) if not the tree itself. (And hope that the trees that I’ve fastened between don’t go over!🤣).

Notably, during the last bout of high winds that we had sometime before Christmas there were several instances of birch and larch go totally over right in the middle of the blocks. The 40+ft larch normally go over at the base as they are really shallow rooted (make sure you set up on the side that lifts!🤣).
But some healthy larch (trunk diameters nearly 2 ft) had just been snapped off at varying heights and others with trunks shattered as if twisted By a giant!
Mysterious force that wind. 😳

Our arboreal bloke reckons that it’s backing gusts above the woodland that create the shear forces that drop the birch trees in the middle and cause the shattering effects on the larch.
 
Did you mean Flyindales?

Glad your tent’s alright. 🤣

Out of interest which way did the tree drop - with the prevailing wind?

For years now when setting up for an overnighter if the forecast predicts high winds I’ve headed for a dense birch block as opposed to areas with ’big’ trees and shallow rooted ones (larch for example), on the premise that if any go over a) they‘ll possibly hit/hang up on each other before hitting me, b) they might be less likely to kill/inflict serious injury (though I take Ystranc’s point) c) be less likely to trap you (if you survive!).

I’ve also taken to setting up a diagonal length of para cord above my shelter in the belief that it might deflect deadfall/wind blown material (look-up before pitching!) if not the tree itself. (And hope that the trees that I’ve fastened between don’t go over!🤣).

Notably, during the last bout of high winds that we had sometime before Christmas there were several instances of birch and larch go totally over right in the middle of the blocks. The 40+ft larch normally go over at the base as they are really shallow rooted (make sure you set up on the side that lifts!🤣).
But some healthy larch (trunk diameters nearly 2 ft) had just been snapped off at varying heights and others with trunks shattered as if twisted By a giant!
Mysterious force that wind. 😳

Our arboreal bloke reckons that it’s backing gusts above the woodland that create the shear forces that drop the birch trees in the middle and cause the shattering effects on the larch.

Indeed 😬

The tree fell with the prevailing wind direction .

Having spent some time watching the trees there seemed to be little rationale for the direction in which they came down … I suspect as you say @Sharpfinger there were a number of factors at play .
 
It isn’t always apparent when a tree is likely to fall or drop a major branch, very few landowners actually complete a tree survey and risk assessment for the trees on their land. It often falls to the council to survey trees near enough to effect highways or footpaths and take action on behalf of the landowner. Trees further back into a woodland are beyond their remit so they’re often completely unmanaged.
Mention was made of birch woodland earlier in the thread, these days any dedicated birch woodland is usually a coppice and is kept artificially small to produce cordwood by being cut back to stumps every 15-30 years. (Similar to renovation pruning) If this isn’t done the birch starts to die off once the canopy reaches 80-120 years. We have some interesting and very rare moths that lives in the crevices of older birch trees (40 years +) The Welsh Clearwing and the Buff Tip.
 
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No major tree events on our patch through Malik but a few branches that would have hurt if they’d come down on yer heed!

Notably, I often find branches from the particular types of tree in the attached image with the broken (pointed) end of the branch dug well into the woodland floor sometimes by as much as a foot deep! Some of them are the diameter of yer arm or more.

You often don’t see the danger if these as they are quite high up and even if you do look up in daylight they are effectively backlit and difficult to make out unless you look properly.

I reckon that due to the weight at the snapped end, the finer twigs which are in leaf (needle) at the thinner end and the height (30+feet) that they fall from, they come down like an arrow!

My overhead line tactic would be unlikely to prevent one of those skewering you!

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No major tree events on our patch through Malik but a few branches that would have hurt if they’d come down on yer heed!

Notably, I often find branches from the particular types of tree in the attached image with the broken (pointed) end of the branch dug well into the woodland floor sometimes by as much as a foot deep! Some of them are the diameter of yer arm or more.

You often don’t see the danger if these as they are quite high up and even if you do look up in daylight they are effectively backlit and difficult to make out unless you look properly.

I reckon that due to the weight at the snapped end, the finer twigs which are in leaf (needle) at the thinner end and the height (30+feet) that they fall from, they come down like an arrow!

My overhead line tactic would be unlikely to prevent one of those skewering you!

View attachment 41439
It may work like a giant bow, firing it back into the canopy to a land on some other poor sod.

Strong winds are the only weather that I do t take kids out in as even a small windblown branch can take someone’s eye out! I’ve returned to woods the following week to find some enormous branches on the floor where we would have been working which is a sobering thought!

On a lighter note post storm is the ideal time for scavenging firewood!

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