Today my love of thunderstorms cooled off a bit. I had some damage as the result of a severe thunderstorm this afternoon.
We had wind and thunderstorm storm warnings today. You could see a build up starting around noon. About 2:30 PM the storm broke . There was lots of thunder, lightning, rain and wind. Rain , thunder and lightning weren't spectacular. However, the wind was spectacular. I don't know the wind speed but the trees really rocked.
All at once I heard a good bang outside and I knew that something had been hit. I ran to my front window to see a large part of my birch tree had blown down on the car and the back window was smashed out. So a few fast scrambles to get the car under the car port and then the rest of the afternoon talking to insurance. By 5:00PM most of the business with insurance had been done and tomorrow action will take place.
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| A 6 or 7 m (20ft) chunk of birch tree. |
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| Cleaned the back window out pretty neatly. |
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| My birch that is in the process of its last days. |
Things like this are stressful but I have to stop and say, "Nobody was hurt. All people are safe." This storm was not nearly as severe as the one that took place in the mid west and eastern states. Our power didn't go off.
My daughter lives near Chicago and she had a large chunk of her maple tree come down. It missed everything...house, power line, fence, neighbor's house. It didn't even knock the bird bath over. Was she lucky!
Now just for this afternoon my enjoyment of thunderstorms was cooled . Tomorrow I will look for thunderstorms again.
I love watching storms come through. I don't care all that much for lightning when it's close though.
ReplyDeleteYou get a great view of storms out there where it's wide open spaces.
DeleteWe don't get many thunderstorms here. I think they are pretty cool unless you're in the middle of one. I remember camping in Colorado when I would be awakened by lightning flashes and thunder all around me in the middle of the night. I would kneel on my insulated pad and pray! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou had thunder and lightning but did it rain. I've been pretty wet in a tent. I've also been in a tent in snow and frost.
DeleteHoly Moly! We usually get hail that does all the car window damage around here. Glad it wasn't worse.
ReplyDeleteHad hail a few years ago that left about a thousand little dents in my car but didn't break windows.
DeleteOh no! SO sorry about your car window. I love a good thunderstorm too, but we've already had a couple of damaging ones this season (no damage to our property, fortunately.) OUr local Home Hardware was struck by lightning the other night and it cause an awful lot of damage because of a smouldering fire.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the tree missed your daughter's house!
It's upsetting but only for a little while. The hoops to jump through to have repairs made are a bit of a downer.
Deleteglad it was not worse! and glad you were able to move the car into shelter before it got waterlogged! i know it is a hassle, but glad it will be okay.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you and your family are safe, Red!
ReplyDeleteThunder and ligtening...how very exciting! Glad everyone is ok. I enjoy reading during a good rain...
ReplyDeleteI open my blinds and enjoy a light show.When working in the field it was a bit nerve wracking when another tent was destroyed.
ReplyDeleteI too love thunderstorms, but not the harm the wind can do. Glad everyone is safe.
ReplyDeleteThere's something mesmerizing about things greater than ourselves. Nature is certainly greater.
ReplyDeleteI also love storms but it's not so nice when they strike so close to home. Glad you are all safe and sound and that it is only the car that took a hit.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought - you may want to blank out your number plate?
The storms I loved to watch were electrical storms off the coast of West Africa - there's something eerie about watching storms far out to sea.
Storms and trees near residential places do not work or mix, a recipe for disaster and insurance claims. Keep the trees/shrubs small, then no dangers to households or cars.
ReplyDeleteI wonder at the stupidy of councils allowing big, old, lovely to look at trees to be still standing when things as reported happen. An old oak tree up the road from me, God only knows how old, and overhanging two roads being in the middle of the roads, has caused due to storms so much in problems that it "buggers belief".
It is truly a magnificent tree. Still it is there. The councils have not the "guts" to remove it. Comes up time after time when it does its damage. The so-called city slicker "Greenies" and lovers of all things green, "smart arses" who mostly live in cities in high rise apartments haven't got a clue. They don't have the problem.
Suburbia and old big trees do not mix. Do you remove the suburb, or the street where houses are or the tree???? My solution: the old big tree goes. Just look at the recent storms and what is happening in NW of the USA - Virginia for one state.
Brisbane had a mini tornado way back in 1980,
my apartment of then was something akin to a war zone. Blocks of ice, darn near the size of footballs smashed windows, old trees in the street all over the place. Took 5 months in the path of this unprecented tornado to fix windows. Brisbane ran out of glass!
In some homes besides being smashed, large branches were in rooms! Result after much hand ringing, all old trees that were still standing were dug out. Old beautiful trees ( well past their prime) had to go, and go they did.
Glad you all survived, Red, in your area, but old trees and suburbia do not mix.
This is not a “the soap box” report/blast, I just hope people will understand that in most natural disasters nature wins. And win it will always.
Cheers
Colin (Brisbane. Australia)
PS: Apologies for being so verbose, but facts are facts!
I am so glad it wasn't worse and that you could get the car in out - echoing TexWisGirl here... I love the trees, but during a storm I am always apprehensive about the damage they can cause! You just never know. Glad you are okay and your daughter also!
ReplyDeleteI love a good thunder storm, with the wind howling, the rain coming down in torrents and watching it all flow by. Sometimes I sit in the porch and watch it all come down. I was in the mountains once during a storm such as that, and was never so scared in my life. The sound of the thunder never left my ears for quite a while. Glad no one was hurt and you got your car all settled up. We took down the olde tree in front of the house, for such a reason, except it missed the car. Have a great day Red.
ReplyDeletePlease be very careful in running outside in a windy storm. That is how many people die...your car is not worth your life. A man here in our area ran out to put out a car fire in the storm and got electrocuted by a downed wire.
ReplyDeleteWow.. that had to send your heart racing. I'm sorry for your tree and car, Red but I'm glad it was not more serious than that.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, we were at the cottage when a swift storm blew through. A tall but slender tree came crashing down toward the cottage. We watched as it landed ever so gently (pine boughs) across the deck. The very tip of the tree casually swished against the window. All but the tree was intact. We we very lucky.
I hope your damage is resolved soon.
I love that song too Red. You visited my post about the storms and damage in my area so I know exactly how you're feeling. After the big storm we had two additional ones and the sound of thunder that I don't normally think about makes me cringe.
ReplyDeleteOur power lost last Friday was back on late this afternoon so things are looking better here.
I hope all is settled quickly with your insurance.
In a little time perhaps we'll both enjoy a good storm once again. :)
Red as you mentioned thank goodness only the car was damaged and nobody was hurt in this storm. There's been some pretty wicked storms passing through Alberta which I've heard of, thankfully there's been nothing like this here in the city.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all goes well with the insurance and getting your window fixed.
Take care and I too "Love a Rainy Night", just not the storms which sometimes come with them.
Thunder storms crash into our lives, leaving us all grateful because it could have been worse! Happy you're okay Red!
ReplyDeleteWe had a massive thunderstorm last night. Isn't it fascinating that despite being continents apart we so often share the same weather.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about your car! And like you say, it could have been worse. I'm so happy it wasn't your house!
ReplyDeleteLinda
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