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

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian

Mobile plants forced authorities to close a highway in both directions for hours in Washington state on New Year’s Eve

Associated Press in West Richland, Washington state
Thu 2 Jan 2020 02.08 EST

Unlucky drivers in Washington state saw in the new year trapped under a glut of 15ft tumbleweeds, after the desiccated but mobile plants forced authorities to close a highway in both directions.

The Washington state patrol announced via Twitter at around 6.30pm local time on New Year’s Eve that drivers on State Route 240 near West Richland should use alternative routes.

Trooper Sarah Clasen told KAPP-KVEW vehicles were trapped in a pile of tumbleweeds that were up to 15ft (4.57m) tall.

The state department of transportation used snow plows to clear the scene, a process trooper Chris Thorson said took about 10 hours. The road opened again at around 4.30am, well into 2020.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/01/tumbleweeds-trap-drivers-force-road-closure-washington

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Tumbleweed invasion traps cars and truck on US highway – video
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2020/jan/02/tumbleweed-invasion-traps-cars-and-truck-on-us-highway-video

[sprinkleeninow]

1. That song immediately came to my tired mind. 😆 n/t

[ansible]

2. There used to be a homeless guy in an empty lot in my town that built a shelter out of tumbleweeds

They can be quite sturdy enough to build a structure in, and the city wasn't too happy about having to clear it out when they kicked him out and arrested him.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Bogus tumbleweeds:

Chandler, Arizona's Tumbleweed Christmas Tree:





Albuquerque, New Mexico

~ ~ ~



To Mars with Tumbleweed
20. December 2018

From school to the museum, and off on a space mission. With the support of voestalpine BÖHLER Aerospace GmbH, the Mars rover “Tumbleweed” will be able to investigate the red planet.

Tumbleweed is an unusual space project in every way: it is an idea thought up only by school pupils, includes a complete research facility, and is already part of a museum exhibit, even prior to its first mission.

The idea for Mars
The start of the journey into space began with the first prototype of the Mars rover. It won pupils at Vienna’s Sir Carl Popper School an international space prize in 2017. The idea was to construct a discovery robot in tumbleweed form which would be driven by the winds on Mars, allowing it to investigate large areas of the planet.

More:
https://www.voestalpine.com/blog/en/mobility/aerospace/to-mars-with-tumbleweed/

[Kid Berwyn]

10. Washington calling Rover. Come in, please.

[lagomorph777]

13. That show gave me nightmares about weather balloons for years.

But I loved The Prisoner!

[Southern Blueneck]

4. Tumbleweeds can Screw Us Up

But rising sea levels and increasingly-monstrous wildfires will be no problem at all. Isn't that right, Mr. Inhofe?

[Judi Lynn]

5. He'd better hang on to his frozen snowball he used to show there's no global warming.

He may want to look at it sometime to remind himself there ever was snow on the planet.

He's someone who will NEVER be missed anywhere, by anyone.



Welcome to D.U., Southern Blueneck.

[Southern Blueneck]

6. Hey, thanks for the Welcome!

And you're 100% right about Idiot Inhofe. The sad part is that his denialist ass will be dead before the Truly Serious Shit gets to this country.

[Submariner]

7. Potentially radioactive tumbleweeds would blow across the Hanford Nuclear Reservation

and get trapped in huge piles behind security fencing. A nuclear technician would then scan it with a geiger counter before the uncontaminated weeds are burned or released to continue blowing away across the desert. The tumbleweeds would slam into the work truck so hard it would scratch the paint.

I grew up thinking tumbleweeds were a Texas thing because I saw them on Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy TV shows. I never thought it would exist at the high latitude of eastern WA state.

[left-of-center2012]

8. Mobile plants ?

I live in New Mexico and never heard of our tumble weeds being referred to as "mobile plants".

Must be a British 'thing'.

Also, I'm surprised Washington state has tumbleweeds.

[Tikki]

9. Parts of SouthEastern Washington State are a 'rain shadow' desert.

Pretty much where the tumbleweed article is talking about.


Tikki

[Cassidy]

11. The most common tumbleweed in the United States is an invasive species from Russia

It is not native to Texas, Arizona, Washington, or anywhere else in North America. It is thought to have arrived in a contaminated shipment of flax seed that arrived in South Dakota around 1870. The genus is Kali. Every time I see one, it is a reminder of the destruction human ignorance hath wrought.

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

[Brother Buzz]

12. FAKE NEWS....they're Ukrainian...

[eppur_se_muova]

14. 15ft **piles** of tumbleweeds -- not 15ft tumbleweeds. nt