Picture of the microburst that hit Valley Ranch

[notherbob]

Here is a link I shamelessly stole from 92bDad on Dtox that shows a picture of the storm itself:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-253425?ref=feeds/oncnn

Thought y'all might want to see it.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Great pic of the downburst, but that doesn't look like a tornado...

 

[Cowboys22]

If that first picture is truely what the guy claims, then this is probably nothing more than a weather related freak accident that noone could do anything about.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Thanks for stealing. That's a great pic of what actually occurred.

 

[JeffInDC]

Here is a link I shamelessly stole from 92bDad on Dtox that shows a picture of the storm itself:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-253425?ref=feeds/oncnn

Thought y'all might want to see it.

To me, it looks like un upside-down tornado. The building didn't have a chance.

 

[DallasEast]

That picture is all I really need to see. Perhaps OHSA can illuminate some other cause(s) for the structure's collapse, but sometimes you have to humble yourself before the sheer power of Mother Nature.

 

[tomson75]

Man. That just sucks. The odds of that happening right over the practice facility, which happens to have an air supported building of great size, must be astronomical.

 

[AbeBeta]

If that first picture is truely what the guy claims, then this is probably nothing more than a weather related freak accident that noone could do anything about.

As opposed to what? All those other controllable weather incidents?

 

[Hypnotoad]

As opposed to what? All those other controllable weather incidents?

As opposed to gross negligence by the Cowboys organization in making sure their employee's workplace is safe.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Man. That just sucks. The odds of that happening right over the practice facility, which happens to have an air supported building of great size, must be astronomical.

And right when people were inside.

Everyone says how lucky it was that this wasn't a full-team workout, and that's true I guess, but I kept thinking what were the odds of this happening in the spring or summer right during a rookie minicamp? They only have practices in there for a tiny percent of the spring hours when a storm like this would occur. And even an hour or two later, and practice is over and no one is inside. Very unfortunate timing.

 

[billknows]

That picture is all I really need to see. Perhaps OHSA can illuminate some other cause(s) for the structure's collapse, but sometimes you have to humble yourself before the sheer power of Mother Nature.

That's right "you can;t put a gun to mother nature" hehehe

 

[AbeBeta]

As opposed to gross negligence by the Cowboys organization in making sure their employee's workplace is safe.

Bit early to make that claim - at first blush you would have to believe that a structure like this should not collapse under such conditions. But that's not on the team.

 

[tomson75]

Bit early to make that claim - at first blush you would have to believe that a structure like this should not collapse under such conditions. But that's not on the team.

Right. The Cowboys should have little to no liability here. Unless they were aware of something the manufacturer did that wasn't to code, the Cowboys aren't going to shoulder much blame here...

While I would think that a building like this should be able to handle 70-80 mph winds, these microbursts can be pretty powerful, and proving that winds didn't escalate beyond that mark is impossible.

It'll be some time before we'll know if anyone was at fault here...at this point it doesn't look like there was much that could've been done to prevent it IMO...but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be thoroughly investigated.

 

[jobberone]

As opposed to gross negligence by the Cowboys organization in making sure their employee's workplace is safe.

Hopefully you're not serious. Acts of God are not negligent by definition.

 

[Cowboys22]

As opposed to gross negligence by the Cowboys organization in making sure their employee's workplace is safe.

Thank you, thats what I was getting at. A microburst hitting a particular structure in my mind would be a freak accident that noone could control. If what is in that picture actually hit the bubble, then it didn't have a chance even if there are no flaws in the design or the construction. The only issue I see Jerry having is whether or not he had a system in place to warn them of severe weather and if that system was adequate and simply failed.

I actually looked at the photo again. Is that the partially collapsed bubble directly to the right of the inverted cone? If so, that photo will be exhibit #1A in any court action.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

The photo looks like an inverted tornado. Is that what a microburst is?

 

[percyhoward]

The photo looks like an inverted tornado. Is that what a microburst is?

Microburst

I searched for microburst images, and that guy's photo may turn out to be the best one ever taken of this phenomenon.

 

[tomson75]

The photo looks like an inverted tornado. Is that what a microburst is?

There's no cyclonic motion to the wind.

It's basically a strong downward thrust of air caused from different air temps, pressures, and often by precipitation (they can be wet or dry). Once the air rapidly cools and descends, it spreads out along the ground until it dissipates.

Think of what would happen if a giant column of water came crashing to the ground from thousands of feet...but this particular column was of cool air and rain.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

That building was/is not "air supported". It's a aluminum substructure. There's no air involved in keeping it upright, it's not some giant bounce house.

 

[tomson75]

That building was/is not "air supported". It's a aluminum substructure. There's no air involved in keeping it upright, it's not some giant bounce house.

I was never under the assumption that it was. I was simply repeating the description that was given to us by the media. Thanks for the obvious insight though.