15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
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Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#2Somehow I don't think that truck is "trapped".
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#3I heard tumbleweeds are an invasive species. Wikipedia seems to confirm:
"Kali tragus [...] is an annual plant that breaks off at the stem base when it dies, and forms a tumbleweed, dispersing its seeds as the wind rolls it along. It is said to have arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds to South Dakota, perhaps about 1870. It now is a noxious weed throughout North America, dominating disturbed habitats such as roadsides, cultivated fields, eroded slopes, and arid regions with sparse vegetation." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumbleweed#Plants_that_form_tu...
These are the western equivalent of Kudzu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States
I wonder if there any species from the Americas that are invasive to Europe/Africa/Asia... ?
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#4Somehow I don't think that truck is "trapped".
Probably not. But also probably unwise to drive if you can't see...
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#5From the story. In 2018, tumbleweed swamped a town. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/18/attack-of-th...
Would be pretty scary thing to wake up to.
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#6I heard tumbleweeds are an invasive species. Wikipedia seems to confirm: "Kali tragus [...] is an annual plant that breaks off at the stem base when it dies, and forms a tumbleweed, dispersing its seeds as the wind rolls it along. It is said to have arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds to South Dakota, perhaps about 1870. It now is a noxious weed throughout North America, dominating disturbed habit…
In the Netherlands at least, an American species of freshwater crayfish has almost completely replaced the native species and its ecosystem is unprepared for it.
And grey squirrels in the UK, of course.
There must be more.
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#7I heard tumbleweeds are an invasive species. Wikipedia seems to confirm: "Kali tragus [...] is an annual plant that breaks off at the stem base when it dies, and forms a tumbleweed, dispersing its seeds as the wind rolls it along. It is said to have arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds to South Dakota, perhaps about 1870. It now is a noxious weed throughout North America, dominating disturbed habit…
For example, Racoons: https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-overrun...
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#8I heard tumbleweeds are an invasive species. Wikipedia seems to confirm: "Kali tragus [...] is an annual plant that breaks off at the stem base when it dies, and forms a tumbleweed, dispersing its seeds as the wind rolls it along. It is said to have arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds to South Dakota, perhaps about 1870. It now is a noxious weed throughout North America, dominating disturbed habit…
Argentine ants are well known for having colonised Europe and largely eradicated the local species of ants. Phylloxera almost killed the French wine industry when it arrived in Europe.
American turtles (called "Florida turtles" in French, not sure of their English name) and nutria are also invasive species in Europe, but those were initially introduced on purpose.
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#9Cliff Mass, a meteorology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle blogged about this last Friday[1]. There's a comment[2] from someone in the area who notes that some of those tumbleweeds were likely radioactive, since this is downwind of the Hanford Site[3], a relic from the Manhattan Project and later Cold War which has been leaking radioactive waste for decades.
[1] https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-meteorology-of-tu...
[2] https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-meteorology-of-tu...
Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure
#10I heard tumbleweeds are an invasive species. Wikipedia seems to confirm: "Kali tragus [...] is an annual plant that breaks off at the stem base when it dies, and forms a tumbleweed, dispersing its seeds as the wind rolls it along. It is said to have arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds to South Dakota, perhaps about 1870. It now is a noxious weed throughout North America, dominating disturbed habit…
Ruddy Ducks. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/71368
Water Primrose. https://www.ada.org.uk/2018/09/invasive-species-alert-water-...
Northern Willow Herb. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/114114