January 2006

WOW - 2006 hasn't started off very good for some of our neighbors. As most of you know - we had some pretty bad weather yesterday. We knew yesterday morning that there would be possible tornadoes due to the unseasonably warm temperatures but we had no idea that one would touch down only 6 houses away from ours.

We were in Fayetteville at Krogers when the store manger came over the loud speaker and said that we were under a Tornado Warning. A tornado had been sited in the county near 74 and Sandy Creek Road. Needless to say, we hurried and paid for our things and got in the car to come home. Before we left the county, Rusty parked the trailer at Sam's house and then he went to the Fire Station to grab his gear just in case he got called into work. While he was at the station he heard that the weather was getting bad in Pike County (that's where we live - we actually live in a town called Hollonville but we have a Concord address). The skies weren't looking so good. We headed home - slowly because Rusty was watching the skies. The clouds looked really weird - I can't really describe them. The closer we got to the house the worse the sky looked off to the east. The lightning was amazing. We got to the corner of Hollonville Road/Kings Bridge and HWY 362 and there was a suburban stuck in the mud. Rusty being the good guy that he is offered to help but she already had someone on the way. She said that when the storm came through, a car in front of her slammed on their brakes and she went off the road to keep from hitting it. The woman said that the weather got really bad.

When we turned into our subdivision we thought that it was really weird seeing a bunch of cars coming in and going out. For those of you that have been to our house - that just does not happen out here where we live. Rusty stopped at the beginning of the subdivision and watched the clouds. Luckily they were still moving east. We got up the hill and noticed that Big Jim's house looked like it had been struck by lightning at first glance. That's not what happened. The tornado went right across a portion of his house. Actually it started catty corner across the street from him. The tornado knocked down a portion of a fence, came across the house next door, went across the street to Jims and then behind his house to the home in the cul-de-sac. The tornado went in a straight line. Luckily nobody was hurt.

We were very lucky that nothing at our home was damaged and Dixie was just fine. Dixie is a smart dog - she probably got in her doghouse and didn't come out until we got home!
Rusty and some of the neighbors got together and helped tarp the damaged roof!!!
This is a picture of Big Jim's house. It's kinda hard to see but his garage doors are damaged - the one on the right side is twisted. The fence around the pool is gone and the roof over the garage is damaged. The other side of the house is also damaged.

This house is on our side of the street but on the corner when you turn at the stop sign. What you see in the front yard is the fireplace. The tornado touched down first (we think due to the fence next to this house being damaged) to the left of this house and then came across the backside and then kept going across the street. The garage side of this house was damaged also.
This is the backside of the house on the corner. There use to be a greenhouse beside the back patio.

Rusty said last night that everyone seemed to be doing okay considering what they went through. The neighbors really came together and helped everyone out.

Today Renee and I went driving around to see the damage in the surrounding area and it was unbelievable. The booth at Gregg's Peach Orchard is gone and debris is everywhere. Trees are snapped and twisted, installation is all in the trees and people are outside everywhere just looking around. There are tin roofs in the middle of fields. You name it - we probably saw it! One of the firemen that works with Rusty lives nearby towards where the worse part of the storm hit and he said that this morning they found a family portrait in their yard. He has no idea where it came from but he is hoping to find the owner soon.

I'm hoping that this is not the start of a bad weather year!!