Wind Power

Anyone living in Southern California can tell you a little bit about wind power.
The Santa Ana winds can be ruthless. The very warm, dry air can reach speeds of 100 mph or more. A Category two hurricane has speeds of 108 mph. The tree pictured to the left grows about five miles from my house. This is a good example of what strong winds can do.

Although it feels like the wind is blowing about 100 mph it only reaches speeds of around 30 to 60 mph when it gets bad around here. Even that is around the speed of a tropical storm or a Category one hurricane.

Wind power
(Apologies The Site No Longer Exists) can be a good thing. When the winds are moderate, they can blow air pollution out of the area and make life more pleasant. I took this picture on a very rare rainy day in Apple Valley, Ca. When I say rainy, this is not to be confused with a rainy day in the mid west or eastern United States. It didn't rain enough to rinse the dirt off my car.
I was driving home when it started to sprinkle. Since I have been working on this web site I have gotten in the habit of carrying a camera in my purse. I never know when I might see something I like. Today was one of those days.

The sun was shining and the rain was starting to come down. One of my neighbors has a wind turbine. And it was spinning like crazy (cha-ching). Next I'll have to start carrying a video camera in my purse.

It's like having a pot of gold under the rainbow.

By the time I finished taking pictures I was kind of wet. I hope no one saw me with my car door open - standing just inside the car - leaning on the hood. I was trying to get a nice shot. :-)

Here are a few more of the shots I took that day. You can't even tell that it is raining.

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