My area has just been struck by what I can only conclude was a microburst. We had an enormous frenzy of wind, rain, and hail, lasting about two minutes. Trees and bushes were thrashing wildly. A few minutes later the skies were clear and blue. Here’s the view from my front door:
The only damage to my house or property appears to be a shattered gate, destroyed more by the wind than by flying limbs:
A beautiful black walnut tree belonging to neighbors across the alley, perhaps a foot and a half thick, was sheared in half.
The response from my neighbors was what I would expect. As soon as the wind died down people came out and started checking up on elderly neighbors, making sure no one was hurt, and surveying the damage. Over in the next street two cars were taken out.
A few neighbors had branches across their roofs. I guess we’ll need to wait until they’re cleared before we know the full extent of the damage.
Except for a few seconds we retained power. Farther down the block and in the next street the power is out.
Update
Here’s the view down our alley:
Alley? I do not think it means what you think it means. 🙂
Glad that the damage was minimal.
We experienced either a microburst or small tornado a few years back. We were in a cabin in the north GA mountains, on the crest of a small mountain, and foolishly had not checked the weather before we retired for the night. Luckily the kids’ rooms were in the basement.
We were awakened by freakish noise and the room completely illuminated with light that only flickered slightly. As we clamored down the stairs we heard the crash of a huge oak tree breaking through the roof just a few feet from our bed. In the morning we found that the road to the cabin was completely obstructed by a dozen or so trees, and it took most of the day before my husband and a few guys could clear the road.
Hope to never have such a close call again!
I never heard the term “microburst” before now. Glad you weathered it fairly well.
Wow, what a mess – hope everyone is ok.
You might want to get a roofer to check your roof for missing or loose shingles. Depending upon how bad the hail was, it could have damaged them also.