“Should we head down to the basement?” I asked the question because although our cell phones were blaring a tornado warning, the weather man had just said the National Weather Service had cancelled tornado warnings in the areas around us and I thought maybe it was just a false alarm. As soon as the words left my mouth, though, I heard hail start to hit the roof. “Yep, time to go.” I answered my own question. After putting the chinchilla in her travel carrier and wrangling our two puggles, we headed down the basement stairs.
As we got to the bottom of the stairs, we looked out the basement windows and all we could see was white. Suddenly we were standing in pitch blackness as the power went off and at the same time, all hell was breaking loose outside. Of course we were away from the windows, but we could hear rain and hail pelting down, and then an odd roaring sound. It only lasted a minute or two and then everything got perfectly still.
After a couple of minutes my husband decided to go upstairs and check on everything while I stayed in the basement with the “kids” until we were sure it was over. The wind had somehow blown rain through our french doors all the way across the family room, so he put down some towels for that, then I heard him running through the house.
He came down the stairs and said, “There’s a huge tree on (our neighbors’) house – I have to go check on them!” My mind couldn’t even register what I was hearing at first, but in the following hours and couple of days, it has become very real. We had a tornado come through that stayed on the ground for over 20 miles. Our neighborhood wasn’t a direct hit, but it was definitely in the wind field.
Many of our neighbors have serious damage to their homes and vehicles, including the lovely lady I mentioned in my post last week. On our street alone, we’ve seen three houses and two vehicles with trees on them. It’s almost unbelievable to look at our neighbors’ homes and see the damage, and then see our home and many others in the neighborhood that didn’t suffer any damage at all. We lost some trees and are going to have a couple taken down because they were partially uprooted and are dangerous to leave up, and we have some fence damage, but that’s it. I feel extremely blessed, but I’m heartbroken for our neighbors. If you’re a praying person, I would appreciate your prayers for those who have lost so much.
Even in the midst of all this destruction, we’re seeing the strength and beauty of the human spirit – neighbors helping neighbors, people working together to clear streets where it’s safe to do so, even local businesses supporting those who were affected by providing free meals, drinks, and hygiene items. It’s always amazing and encouraging to see how the worst circumstances can bring out the best in people. It also motivates me to be like those people I admire so much!
Blessings,
~ Terri
NOTE: I know these photos don’t really give you a sense of the scope of the destruction, but out of respect for our neighbors’ privacy, we didn’t take photos of any of their houses or vehicles.
What an experience! I’m so glad you and your loved ones-hubby, puggles, chinchilla–were safe.
Thanks so much Ellie! I’m hoping it’s an experience we never have to repeat.😊
Oh no. My good wishes and prayers to your affected neighbours.
Thank you so much Nina! I’m sure they appreciate it!
Oh my goodness, Terri. What an ordeal. So glad you are okay. Let’s hope that all this crazy weather finally settles down.
Thanks so much V.J.! I certainly hope it settles down some….This year has had the strangest weather I think I’ve ever seen. I’m just ready for some warm days so I can get my little garden planted.😊
I’m glad you are alright. This sounds truly frightening!
Thank you so much! It happened so fast I didn’t have time to get scared. It was only afterward when we saw the damages that it really started to sink in….
Yes, that is what it’s all about. Love your neighbor as yourself!
You’re so right Jo Ann! If we could just remember this all the time instead of only during catastrophic events….
Amen!
Oh my goodness! How scary! I’m thankful that your home is safe and at the same time I’m sorry to hear of so many people experiencing so much destruction. Those trees look very mature, I can only imagine they had strong root systems. Shame to see them come down like that. Weather this year has been so odd in so many places. Praying for those who were affected and hoping the weather starts to settle for you soon!
Thank you so much, and I’m so sorry that somehow I missed your comment yesterday! My WordPress App on my iPad has been acting strangely the past few days, so I guess I’m going to have to spend more time at my desk…. Thank you for your prayers; I know they’re appreciated by all those affected. You wouldn’t believe how many strong, mature trees were just completely uprooted, and in the places that were the worst hit, homes and businesses were completely destroyed. We’ve stayed away from those areas in order to stay out of the work crews’ way, but the pictures they’re showing on TV are unbelievable.
No apology necessary! 🌸 I’d read WordPress was having technical issues yesterday but I’m not certain of the details. I’m not as timely with my replies as I once was…my thoughts aren’t always as clear these days. So please never worry about that with me! Hoping better weather comes your way to help people start to reconstruct. 🌼
Thank you – I really appreciate it!
This really shows the power of nature as it’s most vicious, unrelenting and dangerous of times. I’m so glad you are okay Terri. Sending my best wishes to those in the area and your neighbours who have suffered and experienced loss and damage as a result. I can only imagine how terrifying this would have been, and how awful it would be to be in the vicinity let alone in the middle of it, but you’re also right in saying that such natural tragedies can really highlight the beauty of the human spirit and sense of community when people come together in such times of need. xx
Thank you so much Caz! Tornadoes are so destructive – it’s just unbelievable how much damage they can do in such a short period of time. We definitely have seen people coming together through this. Just minutes after the storm went through, my husband and others were out with their saws removing a tree that had fallen across our street and blocked access in and out, and we’ve been seeing examples of people helping each other out in all the areas impacted on the news. Sometimes tragedy really does bring out the best in people.
Wow. Prayers.~Kim
Thank you so much Kim!
I am so thankful you are safe. I’m sure there are many more things God is going to teach you through this–I can’t wait to hear about them. Blessings my Beautiful Friend.
Thanks so Cheyenne. I’m sure you’re right – God will probably teach me a lot through this. I had to laugh when I realized that just last week I wrote about being less fearful and then at the beginning of this week we had a tornado…. Blessings to you too sweet sister!
Don’t you love how He does that?
Glad you & your family are safe. What an experience this must have been. Love to hear of community spirit & coming together to help.
Thanks so much Leann! It is definitely wonderful to see how people are coming together to help one another out.
Goodness that was a close call! I am glad you are safe and well. Take care x
Thank you so much Brigid! We are definitely feeling grateful!
Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
Thanks so much Danny! Have a great weekend!
Glad you guys are okay! I hope this stress doesn’t lead to a big flare 🙁
Jennifer
Thanks so much Jennifer! I’m doing well other than a serious bout of fatigue these past couple of days. Hope you’re doing well sweet friend!
Glad it didn’t send you into a bad flare 😀
Yes, I am great spiritually thank you but struggling physically…I did have some good days (for me) 😀 last week…looking forward to more ahead 😉
Praying you’ll get some relief soon.
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Thanks so much – I appreciate the reblog!