how much weight can 100 mph topple?

[chrisinva]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

[retiredguy123]

The weight of the planters really has nothing to do with it. If the planters have tall plants in them, even a mild wind will topple the planter over because of the torque created.

[BrianL99]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

Weight has nothing to do with it.

Remember Archimedes Principle from about the 4th or 5th Grade? It's all about leverage. The amount of power applied, at a given distance from the fulcrum.

Reach out at try to tip over whatever is growing in your planters, at the top of the plant ... see how easy they are to tip over and then make your decision.

[villagetinker]

You may need to bring these inside, I have seen potted plants blown over in lower winds than what are predicted. Also, wind direction tends to change, so the side of the house probably does not make any difference.

[Pondboy]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

If you can move them, move them. Planters are very expensive these days.

like others said, it’s whats on top that could act like a sail and catch the wind. Also as important, is the “foot print” how wide is the bottom that makes contact with the ground. Naturally a fatter foot print will be less likely to topple over.

But do try and move them. I’ve started putting my bigger pots on “rolling plant stands” as these strong winds are becoming more frequent.

[Normal]

You will get about an hour with wind blowing in one direction at 100 mph, then about an hour in the other.

[FloridaGuy66]

A good strategy for lanai's to reduce risk is to put items like that up against an interior facing wall of your lanai. We've found that putting things where the wind and rain can't get much behind them has worked very well. Even with some lighter items like small outdoor furniture.

[midiwiz]

You will get about an hour with wind blowing in one direction at 100 mph, then about an hour in the other.

we aren't in the eye that wind speed is only by the eye

[midiwiz]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

there are a lot of factors, most mentioned so far, yet the one I haven't seen. location. corner lot? not? are all the lanais in line? Your concern is wind from the north/east and if those other houses are lined up with yours you have to remember they will block some of it.

Since it is far too early to tell, it is very possible with what I have seen, that we only get what we got with Helene. It's all going to depend on the last 100 miles in the gulf. There is (for lack of better terms) a "thing" off the coast that will make it take a hard right towards Port Charlotte/ Ft Myers. Should that happen we will get very little effect. Should it not, well worst I can figure is 60-80 mph gusts.

Just saying it as it has been over the years, I don't invest much faith or truth in the local networks as every one of them tend to over dramatize everything. Never lost anything or had any damage to worry about, usually cleaned up someone elses mess that over prepped.

[coconutmama]

We also have our large outdoor planters on wheels & roll them into the garage. We only have a few on purpose for this availability.

After all if heavy wind can blow over a 200 pound person, it can definitely topple a planter. Hopefully the storm will stay south but no one knows for sure yet. I would move yours as best you can against the house but away from windows if you can’t get them inside. Better safe than sorry

[lawgolfer]

An alternative is to leave the planters in place and tie them off at the top. If you do this, you should tie them off in two opposite directions. As the planters seem to be semi-permanent, you should consider installing tie-down fixtures on the posts of the lanai.

[Bealman]

we aren't in the eye that wind speed is only by the eye

Depends where the storm goes. The storm hasn't picked its path across Florida, yet. Depends on the spaghetti model you look at. A few of them has the eye going pretty much right over this area.

[Normal]

Depends where the storm goes. The storm hasn't picked its path across Florida, yet. Depends on the spaghetti model you look at. A few of them has the eye going pretty much right over this area.

It could, it will be at the very least a Cat 2 for us either way if most of the models pan out. Land should slow it down some, but the more mature landscaping of the northern Villages could make the difference of night and day between the areas? Orlando is seeing a 1 on almost all models.

[JRcorvette]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

You would be surprised what wind can do. I strongly suggest you move everything like that into the house or garage! We have been through hurricanes before and have seen entire birdcages totally destroyed! Don’t all those outside hoses they become whips !

[manlius]

Please keep in mind that tornadoes are associated with a hurricane like this. As you know, a tornado can toss an 18-wheeler. Consider anything, whatever it is, that is not attached to the ground should be brought inside if possible.

[retiredguy123]

Please keep in mind that tornadoes are associated with a hurricane like this. As you know, a tornado can toss an 18-wheeler. Consider anything, whatever it is, that is not attached to the ground should be brought inside if possible.
Correct. But, hopefully, if a tornado totally destroys your house, your plants may survive.

[twoplanekid]

The forecasted winds for our area are from 50 to 70 miles per hour. I had a little bit of roof damage from the storm two weeks ago. One half of the top roof cap air vent cover was destroyed. I made a temporary repair not thinking we would face a new storm so soon. So, I was up on the roof again today to try to reinforce my temporary fix. The plastic structure that maintains the shape of the air vent system on the roof is very brittle and will fall to pieces in my hand. My roof is 11 years old.

[coconutmama]

You would be surprised what wind can do. I strongly suggest you move everything like that into the house or garage! We have been through hurricanes before and have seen entire birdcages totally destroyed! Don’t all those outside hoses they become whips !

Very true about hoses. We bring those in too

[Normal]

The forecasted winds for our area are from 50 to 70 miles per hour. I had a little bit of roof damage from the storm two weeks ago. One half of the top roof cap air vent cover was destroyed. I made a temporary repair not thinking we would face a new storm so soon. So, I was up on the roof again today to try to reinforce my temporary fix. The plastic structure that maintains the shape of the air vent system on the roof is very brittle and will fall to pieces in my hand. My roof is 11 years old.

Sumter County right now is forecasted as 100 mph gusts and 80 mph consistent steady winds. However, it’s a big county.

[flash4353]

It's a matter of aerodynamics.

[TomPerry]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!
The weather station in the Village of Amelia is forecasting the highest sustained wind of 33 mph at 9 AM Thursday.

[DonnaNi4os]

It depends on the center of gravity. If you have a planter that is top heavy chances are it will topple. Just remember that we are on the “dirty” side of the storm. That leaves us vulnerable to tornadoes and tornadoes can move cars. We will be ok. I’d put the plant in the innermost part of your lanai if you cannot bring it inside. It should be fine

[Blueblaze]

The forecasted winds for our area are from 50 to 70 miles per hour. I had a little bit of roof damage from the storm two weeks ago. One half of the top roof cap air vent cover was destroyed. I made a temporary repair not thinking we would face a new storm so soon. So, I was up on the roof again today to try to reinforce my temporary fix. The plastic structure that maintains the shape of the air vent system on the roof is very brittle and will fall to pieces in my hand. My roof is 11 years old.

Where are people getting these insane numbers? Irma never exceeded 40mph. WHO is predicting 50-70mph winds for this storm?

Both weather.com and weatherunderground.com are predicting 35mph:
The Villages, FL Hourly Weather Forecast | Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/us/fl/the-villages/date/2024-10-10)
Previsions meteo toutes les heures pour Glaciere-Parme-Brindos-Sutar-Aritxague, Pyrenees-Atlantiques - The Weather Channel | Weather.com (https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/5dc4f5c200e16592cb1b10b9b9df5378c9994c8f1e7b422f1f 67540d273f1c7e#detailIndex4)

The eye of Rita, a cat5 storm, went over my house in Cypress, TX, the same distance from the coast as The Villages. I never saw anything over 40mph.

[retiredguy123]

Where are people getting these insane numbers? Irma never exceeded 40mph. WHO is predicting 50-70mph winds for this storm?

Both weather.com and weatherunderground.com are predicting 35mph:
The Villages, FL Hourly Weather Forecast | Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/us/fl/the-villages/date/2024-10-10)
Previsions meteo toutes les heures pour Glaciere-Parme-Brindos-Sutar-Aritxague, Pyrenees-Atlantiques - The Weather Channel | Weather.com (https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/5dc4f5c200e16592cb1b10b9b9df5378c9994c8f1e7b422f1f 67540d273f1c7e#detailIndex4)

The eye of Rita, a cat5 storm, went over my house in Cypress, TX, the same distance from the coast as The Villages. I never saw anything over 40mph.
The Weather Channel has an hourly forecast and the highest wind speed predicted for The Villages is Thursday morning at 34 mph.

[biker1]

Doubtful. The NHC has a 5-10% probability of sustained winds over 74 mph.

Sumter County right now is forecasted as 100 mph gusts and 80 mph consistent steady winds. However, it’s a big county.

[Blueblaze]

Doubtful. The NHC has a 5-10% probability of sustained winds over 74 mph.

I don't see anything on the NHC site that predicts anything close to 74mph. There's a graphic for +50mph areas, but the scale is so large it's almost useless. Even on that picture, I'd say it's predicting 30mph for the Villages.


https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT14/refresh/AL142024_wind_probs_50_F120+png/092734.png

[Velvet]

Right now: Wed 9:30 am - it seems the path is turning more south - good for TV!

[OhioBuckeye]

We have a lot of planters in our unenclosed lanai. A few are heavyweights - 70+ lbs. Anticipating heavy winds with Milton.

The lanai has approx 29 ft screen facing north , has a ten ft screen on the east side & on the west side has an approx 8 ft screen door & small side screen. Neighbors on both sides have enclosed lanais.
Do you think our 70+ lb planters should be moved away from the north screen?
Thanks!

I would think if 100 mph winds can topple a car & level a home it could surely take your flower pot & put them in the next county, but then again they’re small so they might not blow them away but I’m sure 100 mph winds will possibly do a # on your plants!

[Normal]

Doubtful. The NHC has a 5-10% probability of sustained winds over 74 mph.

One issue is there are so, so, so many different meteorological models and products. Certainly we all hope for super small numbers. Stay safe.

[biker1]

They have updated the wind probabilities. That happens several time per day. When I posted (last night), the probabilities were higher for hurricane force sustained winds. Currently, the probability of sustained hurricane force winds is 0. Gusts are a different story. On the NHC chart, we are in the 5-10% probability of sustained winds above 58 mph.

I don't see anything on the NHC site that predicts anything close to 74mph. There's a graphic for +50mph areas, but the scale is so large it's almost useless. Even on that picture, I'd say it's predicting 30mph for the Villages.


https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT14/refresh/AL142024_wind_probs_50_F120+png/092734.png

[biker1]

Everything you need to know can be found on the NHC website. hurricanes.gov.


One issue is there are so, so, so many different meteorological models and products. Certainly we all hope for super small numbers. Stay safe.

[Normal]

The storm has now zeroed in just of Bradenton straight into the bay. It appears it will cross directly over the 275 that connects to St Pete.