Holy wind, Batman!

I feel like sharing.

So last night an incredible wind storm came through. I saw my power flickered a few times so I was prepared for it to go out, and finally it did. I noticed though that not all my devices and lights had completely shut off. Some lights were dim, a few devices still had a power indicator on, it was very strange. So I was walking through my house and inspecting things further when I saw it - a fire outside on the power line right in a tree by the end of my driveway! Great times! So I called 911. After I got off the phone with them, there was a sudden flare, a loud pop, and sparks went everywhere and the power finally went out completely. Lucky for me it rained a little before this all went down or it may have completely ignited the tree and possibly the rest of my yard. After the emergency crews arrived, part of the tree came down right over my driveway. Plain and simple, I was told don't go into my front yard (duh). This was around 8-8:30 last night. So there was nothing else I could do so I went to bed. Thank god I bought a portable charger for my phone! My alarm went off for work, but the mess wasn't cleaned up so I had to call in. Finally by noon today, the mess was cleaned up and power was restored. They had to replace the wire between two of the main poles, but overall I avoided any serious damage (one bulb in the house got overloaded). I am very lucky!

Now to relax and play some Adventure Island!

I experienced the same wicked wind (I'm in Eastern Pennsylvania myself). Woke my kids up :\

Did you see green/blue sparks when the small explosion took place? Sounds to me like a transformer blew. I've had the pleasure of witnessing seven (7) of those blow up within a minute of each other a few years ago when I lived in a rowhome. It was quite the light show.

Good to see ya both are ok. That kinda thing woulda spooked me.

It was pretty messy driving yesterday on the highway cause of the wind.

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Originally Posted by MasterSwordUltima

I experienced the same wicked wind (I'm in Eastern Pennsylvania myself). Woke my kids up :\

Did you see green/blue sparks when the small explosion took place? Sounds to me like a transformer blew. I've had the pleasure of witnessing seven (7) of those blow up within a minute of each other a few years ago when I lived in a rowhome. It was quite the light show.

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More than likely it was a transformer, but I didn't notice the color because there was such a bright flash at the same time I couldn't really keep my eyes on it. All is well though. I have had no problem since except for the fact that I need to find a home for all the wood that I have in my yard from when they trimmed the tree more.

Guess its my turn for some wind. My area is in a Tornado Watch until 10pm tonight. The watch has been in affect since 2pm, but only now is it starting to get something fierce. :googlyeyes:

The storm has passed without any major damage. Worst that happened is that the power went out briefly shortly after my last post and Dragon Omega decided instead of trying to risk his XB1 to a power surge (he doesn't have a surge protector as its plugged into a square 6-outlet adapter) so we spent the time sitting (he read a book, while I played my 3DS). So pretty much boredom (on his part) was the worst of it for us. Now to sleep...

Well here's my part 2 of the story. One week later, so this was on Wednesday 3/8, another wind storm ripped through the area. This one started in the afternoon around 12 or 1 and continued until 10 at night. It killed the power at work just before 1 which is about an hour before our normal dismissal time (I work in a high school fyi for those who don't know). That last hour was hell because no one could go anywhere as a safety precaution. Try telling that to a few ignorant teens who obviously know better.

Anyway, the winds were so strong that it took out several utility poles and the wires along the road just north of the school. It was so bad that it's still being picked up today, 48 hours later. On the way home I witnessed an accident at an intersection where the light was out. People know it's a 4-way stop but they are so impatient that they hit the gas to try and beat someone through. An SUV got clipped and then I saw it roll over and stop on its roof. Horrible.

So I finally get home to see part of a tree on the side of my house fell and just missed my neighbors house. In my backyard a large pine broke off toward the top and toppled down but thankfully missed anything. As I was surveying the damage, I heard a loud crack and I see another giant pine start to fall and just stop above my shed. The branches from another large tree stopped it from completely crushing it. About 30 minutes later though, those branches gave away and the pine rested on the shed but didn't break through. It was enough force to damage the structure though. Honestly the shed was old and rotted so it needed to be replaced anyway so it wasn't a huge concern to me.

Due to all the damage, school was closed for Thursday. I was fortunate because a former student of mine that has stayed a good friend came over with a chain saw and we got a lot cleared up. We realized there was no way we could salvage the shed so we got all the important stuff out and in the process of breaking down the pine we let it get crushed. I will need to replace that but again, not a huge deal. We also cut and cleared out what fell on the neighbors yard. We worked from about noon until 5pm and got a lot done. School was closed for Friday as well because the mess still isn't cleaned up and the school doesn't have power. That's not as bad as the other high school in my district that lost some of their roof.

So here I am in a Panera typing this before I start to do some school work. I have no power at home and my town is an a state of emergency. Just to mention, the highest gusts were recorded at 82mph which is pretty much hurricane like winds. It was insane and just driving around I have never seen so much damage in my life. I am going to try to put some pics here but if I can't get them posted, you can see them on FB for those who are friends with me on there.

Oh and the biggest kick in the pants? I get to call this evening to find out if I have to report to jury duty on Monday. The timing is just.... ugh.

Tree on the shed
Aaaaand it's gone!