Here in the panhandle of Texas, most of what we have is Great Plains prairie, but that does not mean that the railroading is always boring or easy.
In April and May, BNSF had two trains derailed by wind while crossing the big bridge at nearby Fort Sumner, NM. Earlier in June, a train was blown over near Dawn, on the Hereford Subdivision. And this week another was blown over near Panhandle. These were all on the former Santa Fe transcontinantal Southern Route, and were caused by straight line winds of 60-70 MPH, with gusts of 90-100 MPH. The weather was just as unfriendly, but this never happened in the days of 2-10-4's and 40-foot boxcars. Jumbo hoppers and containers/trailers present a large target for the wind to blow against.
Even model railroading has its weather problems here. The High Plains Division of the Panhandle & Santa Fe Railway Company almost went open-air in a big hailstorm on May 28th. Fortunately, only the outer pane of the double-pane windows in the train room was broken out. So many Amarillo windows were broken that it will be another 4 weeks before the glass can be replaced. They have to fix the worst damage first, and we were luckier than many. If we can make it another 4 weeks before the next large hail, the O-gauge railroaders can leave their raincoats in their lockers at the yard office and roundhouse.
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...and video it as the lil' people are being blown down the street! 