Storm Damage

Early this morning, while we were watching for the school bus, we got word that we were under a tornado warning from my friend Mary, who is also my weather watcher. We share the fact that we both have a child terrified of storms so we have to stick together! :) Within minutes, the winds picked up and it started raining in sheets. We learned later that the winds were almost 90 mph strong - it was very scary!! While we, along with my sis-in-law and niece and nephew who get on the bus here every morning quickly went to the basement, the school bus arrived out in front of our house. There are no trees in front of our house that could fall over the road and the house acted somewhat like a shield of protection for the bus so it just sat there. My other two nieces and nephew had already been picked up and were on the bus so we were talking to Miri on her cell phone while the storm was happening. The bus driver would not let them get off the bus for fear that they could get hurt from flying debris. A tree landed across the road behind the bus and one fell across the road in front of the bus as well. A few minutes later, we learned that school was canceled today because of all of the damage in Cherokee, the town where the kids go to school. When we came up from the basement, we found that part of our big tree in front of the house was down on our deck. We were so lucky that it just missed our house. From the damage, it looks like we were hit by straight line winds. We are so thankful that no one got hurt. What a crazy end to the week!

from inside the house looking out the patio door.

when leaves stick to the walls of your house like that, you know the wind was strong!