Storm

[Lindsey]

We had a terrible storm a few nights ago, and I hope I never have to live through anything like it again. Luckily, we got away with nothing but a little water damage on the main floor and seeping down into the basement. Can you guys see this video?

http://saskatoon.ctv.ca/?video=500431

We had a warning that tornadoes were imminent or happening, so I was looking out for funnel clouds upstairs, where I could see in all directions. But before long, I couldn't see a foot in front of the window. That's when I ran down to the basement to sit in the cold storage room (with three concrete walls). Scott came down with Layla too. We stayed until we couldn't hear the wind anymore. When we went upstairs, it was still windy (but not as loud!) and our little japanese lilac tree in the front yard was bent right sideways. Water was leaking through all the windows upstairs.

The rain started to let up a little, and the road was so flooded, it was right up in our yard. Scott went outside to check on things, and he noticed a tree right on the other side of our back alley was on fire. He called the fire department and they came to take care of it. It had blown underneath the power line and then snapped back and fried. People had started to walk and drive around so we got in the car too. I could not believe how much damage there was! Smashed windows, trees laying across streets, snapped in half, a trampoline flew right through a chain-link fence and ended up in the middle of the road, half a block from our house. A few trees that must have been at least 30 or 40 feet high, were completely uprooted. We are so lucky we only had a little water in the house.

[Lindsey]

Here's another video from our other news station:
http://www.globalsaskatoon.com/video/index.html?releasePID=GOrjssr_e6UcWQ8_Gec1phEQYXhG jvus
It's around the 6:19 in, or 12:28 remaining mark.

[judy]

I can't get either video, but I am so glad that you didn't have much damage! Are the kittens okay?

You don't get tornadoes up there often, do you?

[Lindsey]

Hmm the videos might only work in Canada then. A lot of times I can't watch videos from the USA either!

I have not seen the kittens yet :( The mama cat went back under the shed yesterday morning, and when I went out to the garden for some onions yesterday, the mama cat wasn't out either. Of course, I don't really want them living in our yard anyway, but I hope they didn't drown when the yard flooded :( I hope the mama took them to higher ground somewhere.

We do get tornadoes pretty much every summer, but our towns and cities are so spread apart up here that they normally don't do much damage, other than to crops. When I was in high school, my clasmate's farm and house were destroyed by a tornado, but usually you don't hear much about them. A few years ago there was a waterspout on our area of the lake (a tornado over water). There were some really neat pictures of that one!

[gja1000]

I can see both videos and you all did have quite a bit of damage. I saw the trampoline that was only a block or so from your house!!! I'm glad you only had water damage. We usually get a storm like that every few years, but none this year, thankfully. Of course, we've not gotten any rain either! :o

[DianaB]

I'm glad that you survived the storm. I just hate the severe storms that come with summer. Hail is always a concern when you farm because it can totally destroy crops. You should maybe have your windows checked to see if they need something to keep them from leaking. It sounds like you had some pretty strong winds with your storms. Again, I'm glad that you're alright!!!