130 km/hr gusts & cut off again
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11834)
January 20, 2013 9:31am CST
Yesterday we had what I can only describe as a mini hurricane. It was absolutely awful. We've lost mobile signal (you can see the broken mast still flapping in the wind), lost landline & net (a eucalyptus tree landed on the cable, we had to get the chainsaw out to get the car through), have no electricity, the water was literally pouring through the wall, the training room roof blew straight up, the animal shed roof has lost tiles and it's pure mud in there which is bad news for the 5 pregnant goats, the house has lost tiles, the woodshed basically disintegrated and all the firewood is soaking, the metal guttering snapped, one of the caravans is now completely unusable and the boys in it spent the night in the training room which was about 3 inches deep in water as a better option (we shipped them out this morning, back to civilisation), another occupied caravan shifted in the wind although it didn't go over, the broken tiles smashed up the outside plumbing, there are about 20 trees down in the area we use as a campsite and it's absolutely freezing. But there's always a silver lining ... we have plenty of water!!!!!
I am SO miserable it is untrue. Last night I was crying in the horizontal hail whilst I tried to collect anything not nailed down, dodging flying tiles and wishing I could 'go home'. I'm not sure if I was crying because I couldn't, or because this IS home.
Had to come out to the bar this afternoon to get in contact with family and friends to let them know all is well. Anything rather than spend any more time at home in the dark and cold inside, or the wet and cold outside. At least it's not snowing, although the temperature is now dropping so I'm really worried.
I know there are people who have lost everything to weather recently, even their lives. I now have a better appreciation of it's power. Despite being miserable as hell and knowing that we've so much work ahead of us to do to put things right, I am so grateful that we're all alive and well and still have a roof over our heads.
I hope all of you guys are safe and dry where you are. And that you'll forgive me for not being terribly active on the net for a while until we get some power again.
Have you experienced extreme weather conditions recently?
5 people like this
15 responses
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
21 Jan 13
The trouble is that we feel so helpless as there isn't much we can do against the severe weather conditions. On Friday we had our first snow of the year, even more came down on Sunday, we have had gritters on the road, but our section of the road isn't gritted so it's like an ice rink, I haven't been able to move the car, I hate being snowed in, it's starting to melt slowly today, and hopefully we won't get any more, it maybe picturesque to look at but only from the inside looking out, outside it's so treacherous especially when it turns to ice.
2 people like this
@chicksdigscars (5483)
•
21 Jan 13
Hello my dear!
This is so awful! I really feel terrible for you. we haven’t had much damage over here in northern Ireland, mainly road accidents as opposed to anyone actually suffering from the weather itself. I can’t believe the damage the weather caused to your home. I so wish I lived near you to help. I know that sounds a little pathetic because we don’t actually know each other, and probably sounds meaningless because I can’t help, but I swear I’d be up there with my willies collecting tiles with you. or at least calming the pregnant goats :) I hope things get better, and I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason. So maybe this was mother nature’s way of telling you to re-vamp? Haha. just trying to lighten your mood
2 people like this
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
22 Jan 13
With your willies? Really? I'd love to see that.
Actually, your kind wishes aren't meaningless at all, and I really appreciate every word. I was totally overwhelmed and scared the other night and all I really wanted was a hug, somewhere warm to hide and a hot chocolate.
The sun came out briefly yesterday and once we'd cleared up things weren't nearly as bleak as they'd appeared. Today it's snowing. Bleurgh.
Actually, your kind wishes aren't meaningless at all, and I really appreciate every word. I was totally overwhelmed and scared the other night and all I really wanted was a hug, somewhere warm to hide and a hot chocolate.
The sun came out briefly yesterday and once we'd cleared up things weren't nearly as bleak as they'd appeared. Today it's snowing. Bleurgh.1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
21 Jan 13
That sounds scary and very uncomfortable! I hope you get things fixed up quickly.
There hasn't been any extreme weather around here lately (unless you count the drought) but several years back we had a microburst that destroyed the chicken house and knocked the back porch loose from the house proper. My husband and the kids were all outside when it started and had to run for the house.
We've had some bad blizzards here, but thankfully nothing has been seriously hurt and everyone has been able to make it home and stay there.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
20 Jan 13
Naturally I have experienced severe bad at times, but nothing on a level that causes actual devastation. The worst I have known has been a fence blowing down or the dustbin being blown around the garden and spewing the contents everywhere, which seems catastrophic at the time but really just involves a minor amount effort to rectify. damage of the nature must be a nightmare to experience and I agree that it would leave you feeling very depressed and disillusioned.
I rarely bother watching the news and do not buy a newspaper, but I am still surprised that I have not heard of the gales that you refer to, which must have affected many people and would be difficult not to hear about.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
20 Jan 13
The effect that severe weather and the resulting damage has on the individual is always relative and measured by what we are accustomed to. Since weather of that magnitude is scarce in England we are not prepared for it and it certainly becomes a great shock. I realise that many people have suffered greater loss as a result of storms, but that does not make it any easier to accept what happens to us personally.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
20 Jan 13
Yesterday the weather turned. It was a blamy 40 degrees here in Minnesota...I was shopping all day with a friend and the wind came up and it cooled down 30 degrees...it was hard to keep the car on the road on the way home...definately had to use two hands all the way.....I hope you can get things put together soon...and I am glad you and the family are all okay!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
21 Jan 13
Wow, I looked up your weather and saw trucks (lorries) with their tops ripped off, huge trees blown over and warnings not to take the trains. That's pretty serious!
I do hope you get everything back in shape soon. It must be so discouraging to work yourself to the bone every day and then have something like this happen. Don't push yourself too hard!
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
22 Jan 13
The sun shone for a while yesterday and we've been able to do much to right things already. Nothing is so bad when the sun shines!
Today my fears have been realised though and it is snowing. I really hope it warms up before the school buses get out later.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
20 Jan 13
Although I live in an area that is subject to tornadoes and straight line winds such as you are describing, our biggest concern for the last several months is that the entire central part of the US is suffering from a drought. It was disastrous for crops last year and this year will be worse. I do not want the wind, but a generous helping of rain or snow would be very much appreciated.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
27 Jan 13
Dear Moo, I so admire your stoicism. That's a shockingly destructive and scary storm you've had to deal with and I hope you have some help with your clean-up.
We are having some atrocious weather conditions here. Incredibly high temperatures, dry conditions, no rain, just showers that are not worth mentioning. A week or so ago we had some horrid bush-fires to the south of us and we have been experiencing really strong winds.
A mighty wind storm went through the town to the east of us causing a lot of damage and destruction similar to what you experienced. We must have got the tail end of it as there was no destruction around here but the road into town was strewn with branches, huge limbs and whole up-rooted trees.
There were lines down everywhere and I find it weird that just a week or so before this, I was bragging about not experiencing power outages longer than a few hours(the norm) or several hours, we were without power in searing temperatures for nearly two days.
Like you, we had no phones either so over that period I drove to check up on friends and to find out what was going on. Some of my older friends were truly frightened by the threat of fire, the ferocity of the storm and the damage to their homes just by their situation of being alone in a big house.
Mother Nature is trying to tell us something.
@BarBaraPrz (47308)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
20 Jan 13
Oh my! I guess it's safe to say you're not in Kansas anymore...
The last few nights here in Hamilton, we've had tremendous winds but they would die down during the day. Not today, though. Still very windy. I was getting ready to see all sorts of things blown over when I looked out the windows, but only see one half of the gate open. A friend a couple blocks away told me his back screen door blew open in the wind and he had to lock it to keep it shut.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
20 Jan 13
Oh my goodness, that had to be horrifying and I'm really happy to hear you and your family are all safe! I have quite an imagination and from reading your description I felt like I was right there alongside you. And yes, I don't think there is nothing worse as to have everything happen in the cold wet dark.
I hope the weather calms down so you can start the repairing and get back to normal. Your poor little goats too.
We had high winds here but nothing in comparison to what you had and what you went through. So sorry again. 
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
22 Jan 13
Thanks so much for your kind words. You are absolutely right that everything feels worse in the cold wet dark. The sun shone briefly yesterday and nothing was as bad as it seemed once we had a chance to clear up. Wind that can lift a roof and move a caravan is truly impressive!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
20 Jan 13
That's awful! Sounds like it will take a lot of work and money to straighten it back out again.. both of which I'm sure you are short on. I wish there were something I could do to help. Good luck getting it all straightened out again. Looking forward to a positive update!
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
22 Jan 13
Thankyou! It is so nice, really, to have found so much support from my friends here. A couple of days on, all has calmed down. It's actually sleet out there at the moment as the temperature has dropped, but at least the wind has calmed. We were able to do a lot of clean up and repairs yesterday, and everything looked brighter in the light of day. Thankfully the only costs look like they are going to be a few tiles for the house (the ones from the training room we have already), pipes and guttering. Not the end of the world after all, although it felt like it at the time.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
20 Jan 13
That's terrible!
I'm glad that you're OK. It looks like you have a tough and rough road ahead, getting everything back in order. I hope that you get all the help you need. And I hope mother nature gives you a break after going through this.
We've been lucky not to go through any tough weather conditions. But I just did call my mom to make sure that they are fine as I've read through facebook that there's been flooding since yesterday at my hometown. She says they're fine.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
20 Jan 13
the wind is blowing at a rapid pace and the strength is horrid too,just wait for it to get down so you can rush back to your place
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
24 Jan 13
I don't know if it's considered EXTEME weather we're getting, but it's pretty damn cold here. It's -16 celcius, and we're all freezing our noses off.
