This week we had several days of high-wind warnings where we live. The forecasts were accurate and after the leaves had been stripped from the trees, the kids wanted to be outside having fun. They made the most of the windy days with nothing more than a skateboard and a plastic shopping bag.
We live in the Midwest where Spring and Autumn are typically windy with the change of the seasons. The wind we had this week was unusual. Sustained winds of 30-40 mph with gusts into the 50-60 mph range (that’s tropical storm strength and we’re hundreds and hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean). This weather event was part of my into on The GeekDads Episode #79.
The wind was blowing in a direction that formed a wind-tunnel between our house and our neighbor, so the already strong wind was even stronger…my youngest son was out playing in the wind and enjoying the unusual weather. I suggested taking a plastic bag and letting the wind pull him down the driveway on his skateboard.
Photo by Russ Neumeier
It was right before dinner so there wasn’t time to experiment with different types and sizes of bags, but it would have been interesting to see what the small grocery-store sized bags would have done in comparison to the medium/large bag he was using in the picture above.
We’ll save that experiment for the spring or sometime next year when we get a good windstorm in our area.
Have you tried this? What works best for maximum speed so I know what to suggest next time?
