Rare gravity wave blamed for damage
By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Freakish winds gusting to 52 miles per hour over a two-hour period uprooted large trees, damaged more than 15 homes and knocked out power to several thousand customers in Hartselle and Morgan County early Monday morning.
Hicks said the EMA office began receiving reports of downed trees in roadways and on top of houses as early as 10:53 p.m. on Sunday. They continued to come in until 8:28 a.m. on Monday, representing every community in the county and totaling 126.
At least two houses in Hartselle were damaged by falling trees. The historic Pattillo home on Main Street, which is being restored by Bill and Judy Spain, sustained major damage when it was struck by an uprooted 150-year-old oak tree.
Spain said he didn’t realize the tree had fallen until he went outside early Monday morning.
Two blocks to the west, two huge oak trees fell on the east and west sides of a large house on Hickory Street. While the trunk of the trees missed the house, some damage resulted from falling limbs.
Sparkman Park was another major target. It lost about 40 of its large pine trees, one of which destroyed a pavilion when it fell. Another pavilion was undergoing repairs from roof damage it received in an earlier storm.
The park was closed for safety reasons,” said Frank Miller, director of Parks and Recreation.
Miller said he has contacted local loggers about harvesting the fallen trees but has not been able to find anyone who is willing to purchase the trees.
Hartselle Public Works and Hartselle Utilities had crews working throughout Sunday night and Monday removing fallen trees from streets and repairing broken power. Power was back on for most customers before they awoke Monday morning.
Uprooted trees were also a problem in the rural areas of the county.
District 4 Commissioner Greg Abercrombie said his crews were called out at 1 a.m., Monday and worked through the night and the next day removing uprooted trees from roadway s.
District 3 Commissioner Don Stisher said he crews work continuously from 2:06 a.m. until 5:50 p.m. the next day.
Both commended rural volunteer firefighters in their district for their assistance.
The U.S Weather Service in Huntsville identified the storm as gravity wave winds with gusts of up to 52 mph and a sustained speed of 35 to 45 mph for about two hours.
