High Winds

ok when you are moving you technically are lighter than what it weighs....it has something to do with that Einstein guy and mass and motion so it is very easy to get spattered when you're rolling...EVEN if you are fully loaded.....I do believe they have figured out that a 30 mph gust of wind can knock over a fully loaded semi...80,000 lbs.

Of course when you are parked and the wind is blowing into the side of your ride you run the risk of getting splattered too.....and it does happen alot in truck stops.....nose it in if you can

 

Good eye!
I missed that.

 

I had to back it up to be sure...I was like wait a minute

 

Going thru Montana last week there was a serious gusty crosswind, I could look at my mirrors and see the trailer leaning...It had me slowing down quite a bit as I was very lightly loaded...

 

One thing that wasnt mentioned is center of gravity of the load. I haul reefer, most loads are stacked half to all the way to the top of the trailer. Every once in a while I will get a very low but heavy load usually dry, like seal a flex ets. which is sweet. Low heavy loads rule, you can amost (not quite) slide around corners without worry about roll over. The load I am on now is heavy 77k+Lb and stacked about an inch from the top of the trailer. Even going around corners slowly I can hear the trailer flex and creak and lean, kinda spooky.

The same thing applies in the wind. The higher your load is, the more likely it is to tip over at a lesser angle or lesser g forces when encountering a wind burst while cornering. Emty is bad. The new trailers have skirts which reduces the wind turning them over considerably especially MT trailers. When the wind hits a normal trailer, from the frame up is where all the pressure is that causes it to roll over in the wind. With the skirt the wind now also pushes on the bottom of trailer from the frame down helping greatly to reduce the force on top of the trailer thats trying to push it over. The trailers with skirts drift a bit more (barely noticeable) in the wind but are much safer.

Last fall in I think NC I was driving down a state highway, I could hear all the tornado sirens going off there were emergency broadcast about the tornado warnings on most the radio stations. That was kinda scary, uneventfull thankfully but scary.

 

LOL yup, that and Texans, but for a different reason

Wyoming puts up signs on very windy days on Snow Chi Minh that advise against empties. I have seen more than a few blown over big trucks on that road.

 

I used to love it when we shut down and it was windy. Its like a big rocking chair! The wind would rock us back and forth right to sleep.

 

Hope this helps!

WIND CONDITIONS GO/NO GO DECISION GUIDELINE:
We will evaluate individual loads on a case by case basis as things develop.

The following web site will be used to predict wind conditons when applyng the above guidelines.
http://www.weatherunderground.com/

Sustained Wind 30 mph or less
Gusts 35 mph or less Okay

Sustained Wind 30 mph or less
Gusts 36-45 mph Min 25,000 lbs. No MTY

Sustained Wind 30 mph or less
Gusts 46-60 mph Min 40,000 lbs. No MTY

Sustained Wind 30 mph or less
Gusts 61+ mph No Go

Sustained Wind 31-40 mph
Gusts 36-45 mph Min 25,000 lbs. No MTY

Sustained Wind 31-40 mph
Gusts 46-60 mph Min 40,000 lbs. No MTY

Sustained Wind 31-40 mph
Gusts 61+ mph No Go

Sustained Wind 41-50 mph
Gusts 46-60 mph No Go

Sustained Wind 41-50 mph
Gusts 61+ mph No Go

Sustained Wind 50 + mph
Gusts 0+ mph No Go

 

Wind is one thing, High winds and an ice or snow covered road makes for some hairy driving conditions. an ideal reason to shut down for awhile till the wind eases.