posted on Jul, 21 2019 @ 04:57 PM
Hi everyone,coming at you all from da frozen tundra of Wisconsin. We had some interesting weather on July 20. On Friday, July 19, we had our hottest
day. The high in my neck of the woods was 95. The heat index was 107 because it was oppressively humid. The dew point was 76 degrees. By around 5 PM
when I went to get my mail (my mailbox is outside a block from my condo), it was seriously difficult to breathe. It felt kind of like breathing
through a hot wet washcloth. Now we're just not used to this kind of heat here. I remember thinking that we were gonna pay for this big time. I've
lived in Wisconsin 47 of my 55 years on this planet (the eight years I was gone was when I was active duty Navy).
So at around o dark hundred, the lines of thunderstorms started. They weren't too bad. I noted the the thunder and lightning and went back to sleep.
Then Saturday came. I was up at around 6 AM as there were more storms, and I couldn't sleep. So I was on my IPad looking at the weather forecast and
radar. I was also listening to our local police frequency. They came over the air with a severe thunderstorm warning. Itnstated quarter sized hail,
torrential rain, and 79-90 mph wind gusts. I started battening down the hatches, which basically meant turning off pretty much everything except the
air conditioning and my IPad.
Then we waited. The radar was looking downright ugly at this point, lots of red, tornado warnings near our area too. Then it hit. It hit hard. It was
brief, as it was moving quickly. I sat and played on my IPad. I finally decided it was time to get up. Once I was up, I happened to look out the
sliding glass door of my den, and saw something that made my jaw drop. A very large tree, probably older than me had completely been uprooted. It had
fallen to the left. I was in complete shock for a minute. I hadn't even heard it fall. A few of my neighbors were out there looking at it. We dodged
a bullet. It fell on the street, and a part of it was on one of my neighbor's patio.
So here we were, four middle aged ladies cackling like hens and snapping pics with our phones. Fortunately it didn't hit any vehicles or cause any
injuries. It made a huge mess, which will take some time to clean up. We were lucky. The three county metro area where I live currently has over
100,000 homes without power. Some people could without power for several days. Straight line winds in excess of 90 mph took down that tree. Many areas
had it way worse. People and business in our community came forward and offered help. One guy in my town offered the use of his refrigerator, freezer,
washer, dryer, and clothesline for people who didn't have power.
Several local businesses came forward and offered places to shelter, free food, water, and a place to charge phones. I I was blown away by all the
community spirit. I'm so grateful and humbled to live where I do. I am okay. I have power, and all is well. I feel badly about the tree. Mother
Nature sure can be capricious at times. Never take for granted what you have. It can disappear in the blink of an eye. Be grateful for what you have.