About The River

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

May 16, 2017

Hello Friends,

"When it rains it pours?"
"Up a creek with out a paddle?"

That seems to be how I am feeling as of late.
If you are a regular here at The River, in
April, my dad had a heart-attack. A wee bit of added stress.
May 16th, added just a wee bit more.

May 16th, I was packed up to head to my Master Gardner class. 
 It takes me about 45 minutes to drive to class.
 All day we had a chance of storms.
Just as I was about to leave, the tornado sirens went off. 
My husband and I looked at the radar, the storm was heading for Cameron. My class is north, so I thought I could beat the storm as I drove to class.
I kissed my husband, grabbed my bags and got in the car. I turned on the engine, as I did a golf sized hail hit the car windshield. I screamed!
I turned, there was my husband with a jacket to protect me, got me back in the house and said, "You are not going to class." At this point the storm built in strength.

We had golf sized hail, wind and heavy rain.
We have hail damage to a house window, the roof and our vehicle, we were lucky.

At this time, one person was killed and 25 injured.

If you google or you tube Barron County Wisconsin Storm, many videos come up to view. One that I did watch was filmed by a drone. The destruction, the force of nature is unbelievable. 
I posted a news story at the bottom of my post.

The actual tornado touched down about 2 miles from hour home. 
The area that was hit, happens to be my meals on wheels route. I delivered meals to two elderly gentlemen in the trailer park that was destroyed.

 The power came back on.
Our son Sam came home from work about 9:30pm. He shared stories of his own. 
We began to settle down for the night. Sirens started again. Firetrucks rolled down our street.
At 10:15 pm the Faith Lutheran Church, located three houses down from us, was on fire.

The following report ... 
 
Our bell tower was struck by lightning (?) last evening around 10:15 pm. Firemen worked for about 3 hours to contain the fire. They did an outstanding job! We are very thankful the damage was limited to the bell tower area. We are still touching base with our members this morning as we know that we have one family with a home loss.


 The following photos my husband took as we watched from the end of our sidewalk.





This morning we squeezed each other a little tighter.
Thankful to be safe and praying for those who lost everything.

Carla
 


23 comments:

  1. I am so very sorry for the destruction and the death. Thankful that you had not yet left the yard; thankful that each of you are safe. So very sad for those without homes now and how terrible about the church. God bless you. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my Dear Carla, so sorry to read this.
    My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected.

    So thankful that each of your family are safe.
    Yes I can well understand that, 'this morning you squeezed each other a little tighter.Thankful to be safe and praying for those who lost everything.'

    Sending my warmest thoughts and prayers.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  3. My heart just goes out to everyone there! I am SO thankful you are alright! Those poor people in the trailer park, especially the older men. I hope they are alright, but they are now all homeless. I am so glad you had not driven far yet!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tornadoes are so destructive and scary, I've been in a few in my life, and honestly the destruction that comes in their wake is hard to imagine until you've been there. I'm so thankful that the Lord protected you and kept you at home, without being out on the road in that storm! And thankful for the small losses you sustained, that the tornado didn't touch down on your property. I will be praying for your small community, and for the Lord to help people put their lives back together after such a terrible event. One just never knows what a day may hold. Hugs to you dear friend, and will be praying for you! Indeed, when it rains, it does seem to pour! How is your dad? Praying for him too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know what to say except that I am thankful for the protection God gave you. Sorry about the repairs that will need to be done on your house. Keeping everyone in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Carla, I just heard about this tornado that demolished a barn and shed and damaged some windows of a blogger friend's family and now I read about that you barely missed being in that tornado. I'm so glad you were not on the road when the hail hit and that you returned home.

    Prayers for the dead man and his family as well as the injured and all those who lost their home and belongings.
    Such a very sad thing to happen. Thanks for the news video.
    Warm hugs, my friend.
    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  7. How scary to experience something like this os close to home! My thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected.... I'm thankful you and your family are ok! Hugs.

    Blessings,
    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carla, you really have had a lot going on lately. I am so thankful your husband got you back inside just in time. Glad you all are safe. I am so very afraid of storms and it seems like we hear of more and more these days. Glad your son got home safe too. What a night you all went through!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Carla! I hate to hear the storm hit your town and neighborhood! We saw it on the weather channel but I didn't think about it being where you live. I'm so glad you weren't already on the road when it hit. God kept you home just long enough to be there with your family...in the safety of your home. I'll keep everyone in my prayers. I wish I could give you all a hug too. Your friend, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is terrifying the damage a tornado can do. I'm so glad that your family is safe in spite of the damages you have. And I'm so sorry to read about your dad. I can certainly understand the tight squeezes all around. So blessed to have your family.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am so glad you are safe. I have been hearing about Chetek and Cameron. I was worried about your safety and was going to check in on you tonight. Cliff was "up north" last night and drove down 53 early this morning and saw some of the damage.
    Gave me goosebumps that this was 2 miles from you! Hoping that tonight's storms stay away from your community.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yikes, I'm glad you're OK! I didn't realize that was your area! Are the two meals-on-wheels guys OK? Scary stuff! We just had a huge thunderstorm tonight, but I don't think there was too much damage. I'll probably have lots of branches to pick up tomorrow. Good thing you were able to head back inside. Stay safe during this tornado season!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my goodness how frightening! I'm glad you were all safe!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh Carla how scary for all of you. So glad you are safe the damage while scary and frustrating can be fixed. Just so glad no one in your family was hurt. Hope your Meals on Wheels peeps are ok. Yikes mobile home parks and tornadoes I hope they are ok. Those huge storms are so unpredictable and frightening. Just happy to read your post that you are ok.
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad to hear you are safe. It must have been very scary.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh no Carla! I'm so sorry about all the destruction your state has been experiencing. I've heard about it here and there on the news but don't actually know anyone that was affected, until now. So glad you're ok and safe.

    Tornadoes scare me more than anything else that mother nature can throw at us. There's very little warning and they are so relentless and scary!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am sorry to hear of the damage and injuries in your area, but very thankful you and your family are safe. I've had some near misses during storms through the years. It is scary, but really made me appreciate home!

    ReplyDelete
  18. So much going on Carla. Thoughts and prayers are with you, your sweet family, your Dad and all those who have been affected by the weather. It is so scary how quickly life can change, literally in an instant! xo ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm sorry about the damage to your home and car, but so happy to hear that you are okay! My thoughts and prayers go out to those who were injured or lost loved ones. Tornadoes can just devastate a city and families. Just tonight while texting my son in Kansas City a tornado siren went off. The storms will probably head our way, so another sleepless night! I just can't sleep when I know the weather can get bad. Take care and stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gosh scary weather - so glad you and your family are safe.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh Carla, that is so scary! Thank goodness that you didn't leave the house a few minutes earlier or you could've been caught in it on the road. I am sorry for the damage and for all those that we're impacted. I am glad that your family is safe...and your son at work. I think I would've been freaking out...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh dear!I am sorry for the damage but I still think that you were lucky to be left without any serious injury or destruction.
    I fell sorry for those who were destroyed by the storm more and for one who last his life.
    We live in Asia and here we have only windy storms in summers which cause light damage or make everything so dusty and spoiled. Hearing about storms of your area sounds adventurous but never thought about such serious condition.
    Have safe blessed days my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow so glad you are safe. When I was younger I went through a tornado and hope to never do it again. So destructive. So glad you were not out driving in it. Janice

    ReplyDelete

High Fives from Wisconsin!