Storm photos-I can't believe it myself. Warning-image heavy

[jgm219]

My family and I, like a whole lot of other Tennesseans, got our fair share of weather last night. We had a total of three trees brought down in our back yard. One of them actually made it part of the way in to get out of the rain. We got lucky though. The only broken window was the exterior pane of glass that resides right over my oldest daughters bed. The interior suffered no damage and my daughter and her siblings were staying up late with us last night so all's well that ends well. I included a shot of my girls with the base of the tree to show the size of the biggest that came down. The back of the house and the roof... well, they've seen better. The roof and walls are ruined in places.

Edited February 25, 2011 by jgm219

[Westwindmike]

I'm glad your family is safe. That is a HUGE tree.

[jgm219]

I'm glad your family is safe. That is a HUGE tree.

Appreciate that. We're all pretty grateful of that fact, too. The tree had been hit twice by lightning during a storm in the past but that third go around did it in. Third times a charm I guess. The whole neighborhood is littered with trees that size and a bit bigger. We weren't the only ones that had the outside come inside for a visit. We've heard nothing but chain saws since three this morning.

[hipower]

I'm sorry for your loss. I can really say I understand. My wife and I moved into Inglewood in April of 2003. The first weekend in the house we woke up on Saturday morning to find five trees down in the yard, behind the garage and on the hillside beside the house. Thankfully there was no damage to the house, just to the garage. Since then, we've had at least 2 or 3 trees down a year. We've been blessed by that anyway.

I see you have a small creek or spring running thru the yard as well. We have a constant running spring on one side and a runnoff/dry creek bed on the other. You can guess the results of that last May. Again, we were blessed. The house was surrounded by a small lake about 3 feet deep, but didn't get inside. Just destroyed the heat pump and duct work underneath. Took about 10 days with fans and dehumidifiers to dry everything out. Then had to remove mold and mildew and treat the underside of the house. Totalled two vehicles and had to strip the garage and redo the inside. But that's about over now.

Of course my wife was terrified by the wind and rain last night; but that's normal for her now.

Anyway I'm glad no one was hurt. Just remember the house can be repaired, it may be slow and it may be costly. But you and your family are safe. God Bless.

On a ligher note, I like your avatar. An X-men fan I would guess. If so, this will probably make you ill--20000+ comics from 1963 to late 1980's were in my garage last year. About 3500 were lost to water damage. Avengers/Action/ and most of the X-titles.

But hey, it's ok. I should have gotten rid of them long ago. Again, glad you and yours are alright.

[LagerHead]

Well that sucks, but it could have been worse as you know.

Here's to an uneventful insurance claim.

[Guest nicemac]

I'm glad your family is safe. That is a HUGE tree.

+1

[jgm219]

I'm sorry for your loss. I can really say I understand. My wife and I moved into Inglewood in April of 2003. The first weekend in the house we woke up on Saturday morning to find five trees down in the yard, behind the garage and on the hillside beside the house. Thankfully there was no damage to the house, just to the garage. Since then, we've had at least 2 or 3 trees down a year. We've been blessed by that anyway.

I see you have a small creek or spring running thru the yard as well. We have a constant running spring on one side and a runnoff/dry creek bed on the other. You can guess the results of that last May. Again, we were blessed. The house was surrounded by a small lake about 3 feet deep, but didn't get inside. Just destroyed the heat pump and duct work underneath. Took about 10 days with fans and dehumidifiers to dry everything out. Then had to remove mold and mildew and treat the underside of the house. Totalled two vehicles and had to strip the garage and redo the inside. But that's about over now.

Of course my wife was terrified by the wind and rain last night; but that's normal for her now.

Anyway I'm glad no one was hurt. Just remember the house can be repaired, it may be slow and it may be costly. But you and your family are safe. God Bless.

On a ligher note, I like your avatar. An X-men fan I would guess. If so, this will probably make you ill--20000+ comics from 1963 to late 1980's were in my garage last year. About 3500 were lost to water damage. Avengers/Action/ and most of the X-titles.

But hey, it's ok. I should have gotten rid of them long ago. Again, glad you and yours are alright.

Inglewood's great. I was raised there so I know the Riverside/Stratford/Porter Rd area pretty well. Sounds like your backyard setup is close to mine. That is a creek in the back of the photos. It was huge thirty or forty years ago before Metro put in the sewer system. That's what the neighbors tell me anyway. We have a fresh water spring in the back and when it rains, it shows! Like you, last May it got up higher than normal but it didn't get to the house.

I hate that your garage gets the brunt of it. But you're right, better garage than home and better property than family. My wife was the one that dragged me and the kids to a low place last night. We heard the sirens and stupid me just looked up and said, "Hm. Wonder what that's all about." My finest moments are duh moments. I'm a real say-again-all-after-huh guy sometimes.

Our central heat and air is buried under branches but suffered no damage. We were luckier than you were last May but you were lucky that that water didn't make it in.

Thanks for the avatar love. "Shhh. My common sense is tingling." needs to be a bumper sticker. I was a big X fan as a kid but I've drifted to the Justice League as I got older. Marvel really lost me after their Secret Invasion series. Even with that, Deadpool's one of my favorites. Something about smart mouthed mercenaries with awesome arsenals and schizophrenia I find appealing. Plus I like misfits too. I'd be willing to bet what you lost was some awesome copies. Marvel stuff from the 1960's is getting increasingly difficulr to find. As time goes on, Marvel runs from the sixties are going up in value. I'd be heartbroken if I lost what you had but us comic geeks are like packrats; we hold onto a collection with a death-like grip.

[jgm219]

Well that sucks, but it could have been worse as you know.

Here's to an uneventful insurance claim.

Cheers! I wish insurance people were like roofer rep's. Nothing against them mind you but can't seem to go outside without meeting one today.

[bubbadavis]

I'm glad your family is safe. That is a HUGE tree.

Maybe they are just really tiny girls?

jgm219, glad to know you and the family are OK. That must have been a scary moment when the tree hit the house.

[mikegideon]

Peeled some of my roofing. Guess I'm done putting that of

[jgm219]

+1

Thanks guys. After seeing some of the so called fallen trees on Channel Five, my first thought was, "I'll show you a fallen tree!" lol Seriously, it's too bizarre and surreal for us not to share with others. My wife thought me crazy because a tree was blocking the intersection near my house and I ran down in the rain with caution and tape and a flash light to warn people off. The night was eventful on a personal level.

[jgm219]

Peeled some of my roofing. Guess I'm done putting that of

lol I understand that line of thought. I've put off getting the gutters replaced and now I know why.

[peejman]

I'm glad your family is safe. That is a HUGE tree.

+1 I'm a bit surprised that there's not any huge roots in the ball. Seems like a tree that big would have some really big roots as well.

[gregintenn]

I'm glad to hear no one was hurt. Now I expect to see a chitload of firewood in the classified section.

[jgm219]

Maybe they are just really tiny girls?

jgm219, glad to know you and the family are OK. That must have been a scary moment when the tree hit the house.

Thanks, bubba.

We welcome you to Munchkin Land, to Munchkin Land, to Munchkin Land, to Munchkin Land. And in the name of Munchkin Land.... lol Okay, I'm done. Once realization set in on what was really happening...yeah, I was scared. I worked in the L&C Annex downtown for the '98 tornado and I don't remember any roar, booms or even worry when it hit but last night, I sure heard and felt all of the above. The problem with a sense of mortality is that some, like me, get it only after they have a family. Not too ashamed to say I was scared.

[jgm219]

I'm glad to hear no one was hurt. Now I expect to see a chitload of firewood in the classified section.

lol If anyone out there can haul it, they can have it. In whole or in part.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Very glad you and yours were unharmed. I know how scary it can be when the trees start falling on the house. Thankfully it didn't do anything too crazy in my neighborhood, though I was out driving for some of the worst of the storm in a tiny little car. There are places I would have rather been at that moment. Couldn't find any places with sufficient cover to stop... except for ones at risk of flash flooding.

[jgm219]

+1 I'm a bit surprised that there's not any huge roots in the ball. Seems like a tree that big would have some really big roots as well.

I wondered that also. It was halfway hollowed at the base so I'm wondering if that's it. I wish it had bigger roots then maybe I wouldn't be here. lol Here's a photo of the center:

Tree cutters came by and got the portion off the roof so you can see how it's slightly hollowed in the center. I don't know much about trees past the fact they help produce oxygen but I do wonder if the hollowness has something to do with that.

[jgm219]

Very glad you and yours were unharmed. I know how scary it can be when the trees start falling on the house. Thankfully it didn't do anything too crazy in my neighborhood, though I was out driving for some of the worst of the storm in a tiny little car. There are places I would have rather been at that moment. Couldn't find any places with sufficient cover to stop... except for ones at risk of flash flooding.

Now THAT is scary. Nothing worse than being out in that kind of mess with nowhere to go. You, sir, are lucky and blessed!

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Now THAT is scary. Nothing worse than being out in that kind of mess with nowhere to go. You, sir, are lucky and blessed!

I suspect I might not have been so lucky if I had been out in your area. I was getting blown around a bit, but as far as I know the only tornadoes we got were further east than I was at any point yesterday. Just very strong straight line winds, tons of rain, and lots and lots of lightning. Not that I should underestimate straight line winds. I lost a car to them, among other things, when we had "Hurricane Elvis" back in 2003. Memphis Summer Storm of 2003 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[jgm219]

I suspect I might not have been so lucky if I had been out in your area. I was getting blown around a bit, but as far as I know the only tornadoes we got were further east than I was at any point yesterday. Just very strong straight line winds, tons of rain, and lots and lots of lightning. Not that I should underestimate straight line winds. I lost a car to them, among other things, when we had "Hurricane Elvis" back in 2003. Memphis Summer Storm of 2003 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm glad you weren't here last night, too. All the wrong folks were driving around afterwards. I watched one vehicle whiz by the interesection I was at before hitting the downed tree blocking both lanes. Busted grill, bumper nearly torn off, punctured radiator, smashed windshield and God knows what else. I called Metro for him and his girlfiend but he didn't stick around, he took off as soon as I opened my mouth to the dispatcher. I have to say we were luckier than you and the Memphis folks in '03. I'm greatful that you made it through that.