Talked to a old timer at the supply yard yesterday and it changed how I read wind

I was picking up some chokers and this guy in his 70s starts talking about how he used to watch the tops of trees before picking up a load. Said he never trusted a wind meter on site because ground level readings mean nothing when you got 200 feet of boom up. He told me about a job in Port Alberni where a sudden gust he didn't catch spun a beam into a wall. Now I find myself looking up at treetops way more than my phone screen. Any of you guys still rely on that old school method?

2 comments

2 Comments

graceblack13d ago

Tree watching is NOT gonna save you if you aren't checking actual weather patterns too. One gust and your whole day is trash.

owens.cameron13d ago

You said "one gust and your whole day is trash" but that's not really how tree watching works. Watching branches and leaves tells you a lot about wind direction and strength before it hits you. A tree bending in one direction shows you the gusts coming way better than a phone app with a 15 minute delay.