UH-OH HERE COMES THE WIND…A DANGEROUS STORM, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CALLED IT…

This new storm formed off southern Oregon, barreling toward Vancouver Island…the weather service calls for winds of 40 mph and gusts of 60 mph from late morning until tonight and they wouldn’t be surprised if gusts top 80 mph. Officials warned people to beware of flying debris…

WIND STORMS

Wind storms, which include hurricanes, tornadoes and others, are threats to all 50 states, causing high levels of property damage, business interruption, injuiies and deaths. Federal disaster aid has risen from $3.9 billion in the 1980’s to $25.4 billion today. Statistics such as these have led Congress to propose the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program to improve our understanding of wind hazards and to research possible mitigation strategies with the hope of minimizing the amount of damage and loss of lives from windstorms.

High winds can easily destroy commercial buildings, schools, institutions, medical facilities and other structures. Hurricanes can reach wind speeds greater than 155 mph and extend outward from its center as far as 400 miles.

Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm, though they are often produced by hurricanes. Tornado winds can reach more than 300 mph and can be powerful enough to lift roofs off of buildings.

For both hurricanes and tornadoes, proper construction of buildings is essential to saving lives and reducing property damage. It is essential to promote research into how windstorms impact buildings and how to produce the materials and components needed to survive windborne debris.

Efforts should also be strengthened to educate architects, building code professionals, builders, renovators and all others involved in construction and retrofit to have the knowledge to make decisions in a way that reflects best practices regarding wind hazards.

Surviving structural damage due to severe weather in commercial structures requires improved architectural planning and engineering design for severe weather-resistant structures. Incorporating wind resistant features into a new building is easier and more cost effective than retrofitting an existing building.

WINDOWS

Windows are the first line of defense against windstorm damage. When windows are damaged or lost, the full force of the wind and rain enters, destroying interiors and contributing to the loss of the roof and walls. Impact resistant windows can increase a building’s protection against windborne debris.

The building envelope is crucial to the performance of buildings in windstorms. Windborne debris is a pivotal factor in the performance of the building envelope.

Research and documentation following windstorm events reveals how quickly damage escalates with the loss of a cladding component, be it a panel of roof sheathing or a broken window.

The immediate result of window and door failure is an increase of internal pressure. This occurrence, in combination with overall roof lift pressures, initiates a chain of evens that includes removal of roof sheathing, wind and rain entering the building and the beginning of progressive failure of the building frame.