Aftermath, 12-16-21

The storm passed over us! We returned to the kitchen and watched reports for almost two hours. Twenty miles east of us had winds reportedly at 83 mph. A small town, Rudd, another 20 miles east got hit pretty hard. Some of our neighbors didn’t fare as well as we did losing some cattle buildings and roofs. And miraculously we never lost power!

We have many limbs and branches down everywhere. The cupola on top of the Barn in the Back blew off as did several bird feeders, the door on the pump house and two gates.

I went to the barn about 10:30 – I didn’t want to but had to check on everybody. A small west door had blown open, tearing out the staple that the door handle is hooked on. And there was a “siren” sort of sound coming from inside the goat pen which I discovered was just the wind blowing in around a west window.

This morning the doors to the haymow were open and blowing back and forth – I’m surprised they’re still attached – and the door to the pump house had come off. Just minor little things compared to everybody else.

This was a close one.

We are thankful this morning. Becky and I are headed to Concord Care this afternoon to provide Christmas music to the residents.

Did any readers experience damage? Tell us what happened.

28 thoughts on “Aftermath, 12-16-21

  1. Marj in Western Wisconnsin

    We lost power for about 4.5 hours, but that is all we are aware of. We still have wind gusts up to 50 mph today, so will go out shortly and see if we lost any more trees. We have 80 acres, most of it wooded. I also have a new deer stand up on the hill, hope it didn’t blow over. It is up in the air 8 feet.

    1. Mary Etherington Post author

      Marj – is your deer stand for hunting or just viewing? That’s how Blanche was discovered – Running through/under a deer stand in South Dakota.

  2. Tanya T in Houston

    So glad you are safe! We watched the news and tried to follow closely on our maps. Thanks for posting!

  3. Beth T.

    So glad you and your animal family are all well. I hope your neighbors fared as well. I’m in Oregon, with Iowan relatives, so we watched from a safe distance.

  4. Carol Eberhardt

    Thank goodness you experienced no real loss, you and your husband and your animals/pets are safe and sound. God’s blessing! Repairs take time but at least they aren’t huge like a roof.
    Let’s hope the rest of the holiday season is calm and full of peace for you and those you love.

  5. Sue in Oregon

    Thankful you are unharmed and no person or pet was injured. So glad your home wasn’t damaged except for minor things. I thought about you so much during that terrible storm. Feeling so bad for so many.

  6. NancyTD

    Glad you are Safe. Garner was mentioned on the storm updates a lot. It sure is scary being under a tornado watch in the dark of night. We were having 84 mph wind gusts. 64 degrees yesterday broke a record. It is about 20 with 40 mph gusts.
    Lots of leaves on the patio and sticks and small branches from the neighbors. Soffit missing on the garage and some downspout parts. Just minor things.
    We ever lost power. I had a pile of quilts ready. lol
    Prayers go out to the ones who had major damage.

  7. Carrolyn V

    Oh Mary, oh Mary……..I am so glad that you, rick and your animals are safe……take care and know we were thinking about you! Just wish we were closer to help with your cleanup and repairs!

    1. Mary Etherington Post author

      Carrolyn – we cannot believe that even that large limb didn’t go through the windows of the music room! We are so so lucky! And our cleanup is negligible compared to many. What’s that little Cider up to? Am I missing Zag games? I feel unconnected!

  8. Candy

    So happy your family (including all the animals, of course!) is safe! I was wondering … do you take the indoor pets to the basement with you? I’ll bet Hazel thinks that’s a gay ole time!

    1. Mary Etherington Post author

      Candy – of course, they’re our children! I wouldn’t even dream of not taking them with us.

  9. Carolyn Boutilier

    Glad you did not have serious damage. My thoughts and prayers were with you last evening. We are having a nice fall day temp 67 degrees and sun. No real storm for us in the valley,
    Carolyn b Shenandoah Valley Va

  10. Gloria from CC

    As soon as it was light this morning we checked everything outside. We lost a couple of trees, lots of branches and a couple of birdhouses fell off their poles. We spent most of yesterday tying stuff down and putting small things in the garage. It paid off to spend that time securing anything that might become airborne in the wind. You would have laughed if you could have seen Gaylen, Angel, Baby and of course me squeezed into the bathroom across from the pool. I should have taken a picture. Ha. Glad you’re all safe.

  11. Kim J LeMere

    So glad you didn’t suffer any real damage and the small items can be fixed. I know the residents of the care center will enjoy the holiday music, how nice of you to go and brighten their holidays.

  12. Jeanine

    We had one shed destroyed from the wind last night in Oskaloosa (IA). It was a converted corn crib made into an open shed for storage. We had a trailer and a hayrack in there, but we don’t think they were damaged. We have wood and aluminum siding strung over our yard. We did not do any cleanup today as my husband had a doctor appointment this morning and a meeting this afternoon. It’s not going to go anywhere. We are thankful that is all the damage. Our power stayed on so we were thankful for that as well. My internet dish was broken, but was repaired this afternoon. I’ sure the chickens wondered what on earth was going on as the debris is just outside their coop. We have no idea what time this all happened. So glad you didn’t have any major damage. It was 75* in Oskaloosa yesterday….unheard of for December.

  13. Gayle Shumaker

    It hit here in Northern MI around 2am. Hubby is fire chief and has been out since then. 60mph winds, extensive lines and trees down, power poles snapped off. We’re still waiting for power, last heard maybe tomorrow.

    1. Mary Etherington Post author

      Gayle – losing power is devastating and I am thrilled we didn’t. I’ll bet your husband is exhausted! What an awful storm in so many areas.

  14. Rita in Iowa

    In Stone City, Iowa we had high winds all day yesterday and they said that 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties were under a warning at some point. We had a few trees that fell and lots of limbs to pick up in the yard. Still to windy today to do any work outside. We were lucky and did not lose power.
    Mary glad that the damage was not more serious and the animals were safe.

    Hope everyone else had the same outcome.

  15. Kathy Hanson

    So glad that you and Rick and “the kids” are all ok. Our area in Rochester had lots of rain, thunder and lightning and wind but we had no damage. We didn’t even have to go to the basement. No power outage either so we were blessed for sure. Feel so sorry for those who had lots of damage. Weather can really be awful!

  16. Mary Etherington Post author

    Janet – oh my gosh, I hadn’t thought of that! Whew! Little Red needs a big hug, you’re right!

  17. Mary Etherington Post author

    Paula – so glad you’re ok and able to help with donated quilts, etc. They were definitely needed and I’m sure they were appreciated!! Good people!

    1. Barbara A

      We have a friend in town that owns a business that takes care of situations like ours. The tree is already cut and cleaned up. We’ll fix the fence when we get back; it’s a split rail one and mostly just decoration. The rootball was over 6 feet wide and they just dug the hole it came from bigger and buried it.

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