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15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

theguardian.com

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Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#31

Post by irrational »

seszett wrote: post #8
teslabox wrote: post #3

I 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.

Well, that's fascinating. I had no idea the French had the equivalent of french fries, french toast, french beans, french dip, french onion soup, french onion dip, french silk pie, and other stuff that has "french" in the name but probably has no real relationship to France.

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#33

Post by reaperducer »

irrational wrote: post #31
seszett wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Well, that's fascinating. I had no idea the French had the equivalent of french fries, french toast, french beans, french dip, french onion soup, french onion dip, french silk pie, and other stuff that has "french" in the name but probably has no real relationship to France.

Along those lines, "Philadelphia" cream cheese was invented in Goshen, New York. The city name was used because at the time, "Philadelphia" was synonymous with "quality."

You run into a lot of this kind of thing if you're in to word origins.

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#34

Post by reaperducer »

philiplu wrote: post #9

Cliff 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…

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.

I can't count the number of giant piles of tumbleweeds I've seen along US-95, US-6, and NV-375 (The Extraterrestrial Highway†) — the roads which encircle the Nevada National Security Site and Area 51. God only knows what they're contaminated with.

(The name has changed several times, but the NNSS is where the U.S. carried out over 900 nuclear bomb tests from 1951 to 1994. Today the tests are simulated, so some of the most advanced and secret supercomputers in the world are there. It's the only place in North America where civilian police and firefighters can train for radioactive emergencies in actual radioactive environments.)

† https://travelnevada.com/road-trip/extraterrestrial-highway

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#35

Post by itronitron »

netgusto wrote: post #13

My risk avoidance systems detects danger in staying in the car within the pile of tumbleweeds, as I expect them to be easily flammable; isn't that the case?

yes, they are extremely flammable although likely to completely burn up within a minute or two as they don't have a lot of mass when dried out

not sure whether it is safer to exit the car and risk getting hit by another vehicle or risk being stuck under a burning pile

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#37

Post by reaperducer »

jcadam wrote: post #27

I developed an allergy to tumbleweed whilst living in Colorado. So I moved to the east coast. Ok, it wasn't just because of the tumbleweeds. The sound a tumbleweed makes when it gets caught in your undercarriage and drug down the highway is... annoying. Annoying enough I'd sometimes pull over to remove them (particularly if I'd collected more than one). Couldn't imagine being buried in them :(

Couldn't imagine being buried in them :(

One of my favorite photos of my wife is where she's trapped inside our car, surrounded by piles of tumbleweeds at a rest stop in Arizona.

It was a windy day, and I stopped to use the facilities. When I came out, there she was — frantic behind the glass, not knowing what to do since it was the first time she'd ever seen tumbleweeds. Naturally, I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#38

Post by avip »

irrational wrote: post #31
seszett wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Well, that's fascinating. I had no idea the French had the equivalent of french fries, french toast, french beans, french dip, french onion soup, french onion dip, french silk pie, and other stuff that has "french" in the name but probably has no real relationship to France.

A known crowd-pleaser in this field is the "Jerusalem Artichoke"[0] which has nothing to with any of the words.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#39

Post by reaperducer »

joncrane wrote: post #32
k_sze wrote: post #23

The article doesn’t talk about it, but is this also a result of climate change?

I believe that Western Washington is indeed experiencing less rainfall lately.

I believe that Western Washington is indeed experiencing less rainfall lately.

The local news report that The Guardian lifted its article from was from KAPP-TV, which is in Yakima. Yakima is considered eastern Washington, not west. It is on the dry side of the state where there are farms and desert.

Re: 15ft tumbleweeds trap drivers and force Washington state road closure

#40

Post by A_Parr »

seszett wrote: post #8
teslabox wrote: post #3

I 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.

If you meant red-eared sliders as "Florida turtles", they're ironically banned for sale in Florida because they became an invasive species there.
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