The Great Tornado of 2017 (Part II)

Technology is amazing these days. Long before the storm that wrecked our home and car (and neighborhood) tore through Fuquay Varina, our phones were emitting warnings of bad storms and tornados.  We knew bad weather was coming.

Lisa and were both home as I glanced at the radar image on my app. There was a large cell of the storm heading right for us but there was time to go get the boys from school.  Lisa quickly departed for FVES. With the possibility of tornados I just wanted to have the family together for accountability and security.

Again, thanks to technology, I was able to track Lisa's iPhone to the school and start the trip back just as I heard a large thunk sound on the side of the house.  I saw the beginning of the hail storm.  Hail was coming down intermittently and was the size of golf balls.  Thinking ahead I raised the garage door and waited for the van to pull into the driveway.

In the minute or so it took Lisa to arrive the storm worsened.  The hail was violent, for lack of a better word. It was bigger than a golf ball and coming down with a fury.  It ricocheted off the ground into the garage and, quite frankly, scared me. When the van pulled in the kids and Lisa were trapped in the van until I grabbed an umbrella from Lisa and shielded them one by one into the garage. Even a glancing blow hurt.

Lisa did the smart thing and herded the kids into shelter of the first floor storage closet while I did the less-than-smart thing of filming the hail coming through the kitchen window. 

The storm was the wildest thing any of us have ever experienced.  The hail was like machine gun rounds, punching through glass, shingles, windshields, lawn furniture, and trees.  It only lasted a few minutes but in that time it left immense damage in its wake.

As a matter of perspective, this storm system is what was left of Hurricane Harvey, the worst storm to hit the US in history.  Houston, TX, is underwater and people have lost everything as a result.  We did not lose anything irreplaceable and no one was hurt.
Immediately afterwards people came out of their homes to check on the damage and check on one another, an outpouring of support and community that makes us love South Lakes and the people in it. Throughout the night people did quick clean ups and boarded windows. 

We lost two widows in the kitchen and office and all of the gutters are dented beyond repair.  The screens on the porch are blown out.  Lisa's van is very likely totaled.  The next day I discovered shafts of light coming into the attic.


The next day came the "Parade of the Contractors" - a steady stream of trucks and vans with roof repair logos on them - each promising free estimates and the ability to work with us and our insurance company. I can't fault these guys.  Ultimately, we are going to need a new roof, gutters, and two windows. The smart business thing to do it to get ahead of requests.

We spent the next two days in the backyard cleaning up and connecting with more people in the neighborhood. Lisa even raked a path for "Emily" our lone, lost duck that has been adopted by Barb, next door; Emily was a bit shell shocked the next day and came over to us quacking as if to say, "what the hell was that all about?!"  Insurance companies called and adjustors stopped by.  By Labor Day we were generally back to normal.  

Now Irma is a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic.  We all waiting to see where it will go.