Every Friday, FreightWaves takes a look back at the week in social media, highlighting trucking, transportation and weather. This week features lingering snow in southern Alaska, a crane collapse at a Taiwan port and a tractor-trailer decked out for Memorial Day.
You got ‘Storrowed’
A trucker crashed into the Massachusetts Avenue overpass on Storrow Drive in Boston on May 27. The results — the roof of the trailer was torn to shreds and the road was shut down for a while.
According to people in Beantown, as well as a WBZ-TV report, trucks getting stuck under this overpass or clipping it is a regular occurrence. This is despite signs and flashing lights warning drivers about the low clearance. People have affectionately nicknamed these accidents “getting Storrowed.” Storrow Drive is a scenic road that parallels the Charles River just west of downtown.
Related: Most unforgiving bridges for truckers in the US
It’s a twister
A tornado was spotted in the distance near Eleven Mile State Park in central Colorado over Memorial Day weekend. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), trained spotters saw the tornado Sunday over Eleven Mile Reservoir at one point but reported no damages or injuries.
The NWS received two other tornado reports in Colorado that day, in the southeastern part of the state, as well as hail the size of ping-pong balls. According to NWS data, Colorado sees an average of 53 tornadoes each year, up from 12 in 1950. This trend, in large part, is a result of improvements in record-keeping, better tornado detection through Doppler radar, a growing population and increased public awareness.
Pole position
According to KTVT, an investigation is underway at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (ICAO code: DFW) after an American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) plane hit a light pole on the tarmac. The flight was headed for the Bahamas on Memorial Day.
The wing’s tip was damaged and the impact knocked down the pole. There were no injuries on board, and passengers were transferred to a different plane.
Won’t snow away
It’s less than three weeks from the summer solstice and there’s still snow on the ground in southern Alaska. This shot faces the northeastern slopes of the Chugach Mountains, more than 3,000 feet above sea level. The Chugach Mountains are about 150 miles east of Anchorage.
Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist who tweeted the photo Tuesday, told FreightWaves that snowpack isn’t unusual in this area in late spring. He said in any given year there’s about a 33% chance of snow covering the ground in early June. We hope the picture didn’t make warm weather lovers shiver too much.
Salute
A Georgia trucking company decked out one of its big rigs with fabulous Memorial Day artwork. The mural of sorts on the side of the trailer depicts faces of U.S. servicemen and servicewomen, with a bald eagle in the middle under the phrase “Faces of Freedom.”
Kudos to Quest Trucking out of Cartersville, Georgia, for its tribute to our fallen soldiers. The truck was spotted at a Love’s truck stop in Quanah, Texas, about 130 miles southeast of Amarillo.
Watch out below
Video popped up Thursday on social media showing a massive container crane collapsing and workers running for their lives at the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. It happened that morning around 11 o’clock local time.
The accident was a result of one container ship veering off course and sideswiping another, according to a TVBS report. In the dramatic video, the massive container crane suffered a catastrophic structural failure, collapsing onto the dock. Containers tumbled like dominoes as debris rained down.
One dock worker suffered lacerations on his right arm. Crews rescued two other dock workers who were trapped inside the crane, according to UDN. Witnesses said the men were traumatized but did not appear to be seriously injured.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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