Fairfield Harbour community was hit by a Superstorm on May 9, causing fallen trees and damage to the neighborhood and Harbour Pointe Golf Club (HPGC.)
Will Caudle, Fairfield Harbour’s Maintenance Superintendent, confirmed that 160+ trees were down on the HPGC. Cleanup was and is being handled by Chris Dunn and his crew with the help of American Tree. The POA and HPGC have worked with American Tree for at least seven years. Will recalls the afternoon of the storm, “When we heard about the damage, Chris called American Tree, and they were out the next morning. The golf course was back open in a day and a half, though clean up in the 'out of play' areas is still going on.”
Will added, “At the POA end, our maintenance crew cleaned up about 40 trees off different common areas, 25 from the old golf course (green space), ten off Broad Creek Road, and five or more off other common areas. On the night of the storm, my assistant, Thomas Mantlo, myself, with the help of golf course superintendent Chris Dunn and Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, Nathaniel Britt, cleared trees from the roads until 9 pm.”
Will reassures, "At this point, not all storm damage has been picked up and may not get picked up until later in the year when we have more time. Now we must resume our regular maintenance responsibilities. The golf course is open and ready for play. Everyone has worked hard to get everything cleaned up in a little over a week, so I'm very proud of what this team has accomplished with the curveball we got at the beginning of the season.”
Thank you, Will Caudle, Chris Dunn, and the whole team, for your diligence in the cleanup!
Meteorologist Ryan Fucheck with the National Weather Service based in Newport confirmed, although an unnamed storm, it was a Supercell Storm. This Supercell Storm affected areas from Askins and Vanceboro. Fairfield Harbour had a low-hanging cloud with straight-line winds and wind gusts of 73 m.p.h.
According to NOAA, Severe Weather 101: Thunderstorm Types (noaa.gov):
A supercell is a long-lived (greater than 1 hour) and highly organized storm feeding off an updraft (a rising current of air) that is tilted and rotating. This rotating updraft - as large as 10 miles in diameter and up to 50,000 feet tall - can be present as much as 20 to 60 minutes before a tornado forms. Scientists call this rotation a mesocyclone when it is detected by Doppler radar. The tornado is a very small extension of this larger rotation. Most large and violent tornadoes come from supercells.