Storm Bubble?

I don’t know if such a thing exists. But I have lived in an area that has been remarkably protected from storm damage. For 28 years. In the western suburbs of Chicago.

To be precise, the town is Warrenville, Illinois, about 28 air miles west of downtown Chicago. Warrenville is north of Naperville, west of Wheaton, south of West Chicago and just east of Fermilab. That site is the atom smasher where proton beams were first found. They focused on neutron beams but discovered proton beams which have since been harnessed to cancel certain cancers.

The original atom smasher (cyclotron) was shut down years ago but was replaced by a particle beam accelerator which shoots atoms in a straight line below the earth’s surface; it travels toward a target site on the surface of the earth thousands of miles away. The beam goes through everything, steel, concrete, granite, you name it.

There is a folklore tale that claims that all or most weather fronts are interrupted by the mysterious force that envelopes Fermilab. Being a fan of science, I doubt this reality very much. On the other hand, experience has demonstrated severe weather patterns skip over Warrenville. Tornadoes haven’t landed here in decades, if ever. Heavy snowfalls are lighter here than in neighboring towns. Thunderstorms with damaging winds bounce around us and affect our neighbors. Even straight-line windstorms appear to deflect away from us. The radar screens often show the effect more clearly.

It is like we live in a bubble.

Eight years ago, we moved to neighboring West Chicago. The bubble seems to extend toward us again for protective service. Now, West Chicago has had severe weather damage its buildings and forested areas. Suspected tornadoes have sheared off treetops on several occasions, but horrendous damage has been avoided.

Is this a tall tale or scientific fact? I really don’t know. I wonder who does?

Meanwhile, we snuggle under our protective bubble certain of our safety. If ours is a foolish assumption, please don’t bother to tell us. We are just fine the way we are!

July 25, 2022