The insurance adjuster from State Farm just left the house and I will be getting a new roof. WHEW!!!! Should be completed in time for the fall rally.
Last Thursday, Judy and I developed a new appreciation for those of you that live in areas frequented by tornadoes. We live in a small village in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Mountains where tornadoes are as common as snow in Orlando.
The weather service was posting warnings of severe weather on Thursday afternoon for our area. This was not a new thing. I was at work that day and was following the line of thunderstorms as it barreled across Pennsylvania, west to east. Around 4:30 that afternoon, the sky started to get dark. Nothing out of the ordinary. At 4:55 pm, things were really getting wild. My cell phone was ringing as I heard our scanner announcing a tornado warning for Harford, right where I live. Judy was on the phone asking how to lower the garage door as the power just went out. She went out to the garage and was following my directions as the wind kicked up and it started to rain heavily. She got the door down and dashed to the house, about 4 feet away, as the trees in our side yard started to fall. She told me that she was heading to the cellar. She heard the tornado warning as she got inside the house. She also heard the familiar "freight train" sound associated with a tornado. She was very upset. She remained in the cellar for about 15 minutes, came up, looked out, and could not believe the sight. The trees that survived Hurricane Irene from last September were now down. (We lost about 9 trees in that storm. No physical damage as a result of that storm. I pulled the Montana out as the trees were falling and took it to a safe place. See pictures Hurricane Irene.) Several trees were resting on my storage shed and Cover-It-Garage that protects my truck. One narrowly missed a direct hit on the Montana but a side branch struck the roof. I came home from work to see this mess. My first concern was the roof of the camper. I found several tears in the roof and made emergency repairs. A large tree that is next to the CI garage did not fall. If it had, I would be looking for a new truck. Everyone was safe and no harm to the house.
Friday brought friends and neighbors to help clear the trees. It also brought the sightseers!! I have a camping friend that has a crane truck. He lifted the tree off the Montana to avoid any further damage. He also lifted the treetop off the garage (no holes!!!) and the shed (crushed and damaged). By Saturday night, all the trees were gone and yard cleanup started. The trees went to a friend who helped with the cleanup. He will use them for free winter heat.
Friday also brought the National Weather Service to my driveway. They were in the area checking to see if it was a tornado that passed through. This was the same cell that 10 miles west of us produced an official tornado but they could not declare this a tornado because it did not touch the ground. The trees were twisted off and several area residents did see a funnel cloud. Once such story goes like this.
About two tenths of a mile east of us, several kids were gathered on a porch to watch the storm. The mother of several of them was just inside the door. Conversation among friends went like this - " Oh, look at the dark clouds. Oh, look at the rain. Wow! It is really getting windy. Hey, check out the funnel cloud!!" Upon hearing that, the mother went outside, saw the cloud, and grabbed the kids and headed them down to the cellar.
I called my insurance agent. The damage to the storage shed is less than my deductible. I am in the process of getting an official estimate on replacing the roof on the Montana. Once I get an estimate, they will come to check the damage and I will get it repaired.
I have several pictures that we took. Here is the link to the photos.
Pictures