Red Flag Days In Midland And Odessa Mean Batten Down The Hatches!

It's a windy one in the Permian today! So much so that it feels like "The Windy City" nickname belongs in West Texas, NOT in Chicago (although theirs is derived from a Political Convention coming to town and the politicians being "full of wind", not actual wind)... For those who wonder what it's like here on a day like this, click PLAY:

Ah, tumblin' tumbleweeds!!! We should be grateful that it's just this and not a haboob. Another term for those who aren't from here or haven't lived here to figure out... Let me help: a haboob is an intense dust storm with high winds and clouds of dirt and dust so bad, it's like a wall of dirt coming at you:

So as you can see, it could always be worse. I can share that when I went home for lunch today in Midland--I had to walk down the street and fetch my garbage can (it was trash pickup day today) from about 4 houses down because it had blown over after being emptied and scooted down the street! Even signs in the area that are a decent size and weight are no match for the gusts here today:

And thank goodness for certain fixtures stopping the brush from blowing all over the place:

The Red Flag warning expires at 7 pm so if you wanted to grill for dinner tonight--maybe put the meat back in the fridge and hit one of our fine dining establishments instead and grill tomorrow. The wind advisory expires at 6.