On April 12th, extreme strong wind weather appeared in Henan Province with a maximum wind force reaching level 15. Many netizens posted that windows were blown away, vehicles were damaged, and farmers’ watermelon greenhouses were destroyed, causing heavy losses.
The Henan Provincial Meteorological Bureau announced on the 12th that monitoring data showed from 6:00 on April 11th to 6:00 on April 12th, most parts of Henan Province experienced gusts of level 8 to 10, with some counties and cities reaching level 11 to 13, and maximum wind force of level 15. 40 national stations recorded maximum wind speeds reaching or exceeding historical extreme values for April. At the same time, most parts of the province were accompanied by floating dust or sand, with showers and thunderstorms in many areas.
Many netizens shared videos online saying, “It feels like the utility poles are about to fall down, walking on the street, one could be blown away by the wind at any minute.” “Riding a bike, suddenly a utility pole came crashing down.” “A strong wind directly blew the window off.”
Photos and videos circulating online showed some buildings with shattered glass, metal roofs overturned, thick fences blown down, electric bikes toppled, debris from a blown-off balcony railing hitting cars, and many large trees uprooted.
Due to the strong wind, tens of thousands of acres of watermelon greenhouses were completely destroyed, causing severe losses.
According to local netizens, “We had strong wind blowing all night yesterday.” “This is no joke, got woken up early in the morning by the sound of the wind hitting the glass.” “Can’t sleep! The wind in Zhengzhou is too scary.”
The Henan Provincial Meteorological Bureau forecasts that strong winds will continue on the 12th, with gusts of level 8 to 10 expected on the 13th.
According to the official media Xinhua News Agency, as of 6:21 on April 12th, there were 105 effective alerts for strong winds, cold waves, thunderstorms, and other weather warnings across Henan Province. Zhengzhou Fantawild Resort, Zhengzhou Garden Expo Park, and several other scenic spots issued temporary closure notices, while Baoshan Tourist Resort, Luoyang Laojun Mountain Scenic Area, among others, implemented crowd control measures.
Prior reports:
Beijing to experience rare extreme strong winds, locally reaching level 13 and above
Strong winds approaching, Beijing supermarkets sold out, Hema delivery overwhelmed with orders
Beijing issues five rare alerts simultaneously, strong winds in many areas resembling disaster movie scenes