Windstorm 2006!
Dec. 15th, 2006 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsThe Puget Sound has been whiplashed by fierce windstorms over the evening, and the damage across the region is extensive. At The Villa Sternberg we seem to have come through the worst of it with four walls and a roof intact.
The adventure started last night when, shortly after dark, while there was a lull in the wind but the rain was coming down hard, I had to crawl out onto the garage roof and run my bare hand through muck-filled raingutters and clear them out. It only took a few minutes, but they were critical minutes as the gutters had become clogged and a wall of water was pouring off the roof right in front of the front door.
The power went out around midnight. When I awoke, I had missed an early meeting at work. Omaha and I looked around the house; one of the neighbor's Big Wheels had rolled into our driveway, and one of the cheap plastic lawnchairs had fallen over. There were pine branches everywhere. The trash and recycling bins were still where we had left them. At first, it looked like we had come through the storm more or less unscathed. That was, until I noticed that the entire back fence along the north parallel was gone. Well, it was 21-year-old 15-year fence. The new fence along the eastern side, which is only two years old, was slightly buckled. The western fence, which went in this summer, seems to be fine.
School was cancelled this morning.
I left Omaha with the girls. I have the car, so I can get back in a hurry if need be. I'm also able to get to a place with information, which we need right now just as badly as power. She'll be okay, although I hope they get the power back on soon. There are thousands of downed lines, and only about two hundred crews to repair them all. If they have a problem, all three of them know how to call me, and the cell phones do seem to be working adequately. I'll probably leave work early to join them.
The adventure started last night when, shortly after dark, while there was a lull in the wind but the rain was coming down hard, I had to crawl out onto the garage roof and run my bare hand through muck-filled raingutters and clear them out. It only took a few minutes, but they were critical minutes as the gutters had become clogged and a wall of water was pouring off the roof right in front of the front door.
The power went out around midnight. When I awoke, I had missed an early meeting at work. Omaha and I looked around the house; one of the neighbor's Big Wheels had rolled into our driveway, and one of the cheap plastic lawnchairs had fallen over. There were pine branches everywhere. The trash and recycling bins were still where we had left them. At first, it looked like we had come through the storm more or less unscathed. That was, until I noticed that the entire back fence along the north parallel was gone. Well, it was 21-year-old 15-year fence. The new fence along the eastern side, which is only two years old, was slightly buckled. The western fence, which went in this summer, seems to be fine.
School was cancelled this morning.
I left Omaha with the girls. I have the car, so I can get back in a hurry if need be. I'm also able to get to a place with information, which we need right now just as badly as power. She'll be okay, although I hope they get the power back on soon. There are thousands of downed lines, and only about two hundred crews to repair them all. If they have a problem, all three of them know how to call me, and the cell phones do seem to be working adequately. I'll probably leave work early to join them.
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 08:14 pm (UTC)you guys have really had some crappy weather out there in the past year or so, right? then again, come to think of it, so have we... i have to keep reminding myself that my government keeps telling me there is no climate change taking place. riiiiight....
no subject
Date: 2006-12-15 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-16 03:36 am (UTC)On the upside, I heard Isilon hit the NASDAQ today. :-)