A Day Like Any Other
June 1, 2018, seemed like any other summer day in Georgia – hot, humid, and a chance for an afternoon storm. Summer storms in Georgia are typically just heavy rain, sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightning, but nothing too spectacular. That was the expectation that summer afternoon.
A Turn of Events
Fast forward to the end of the work day. I began my 9 1/2 mile commute home – never realizing it would take me 2 hours that day. Things were going well – slower than usual, but progressing – until I entered my own community. As soon as I crossed a major highway, the area went from looking like heavy rain had come down to tornado-esque devastation. I never heard news reports that confirmed a tornado, but the destruction was still there.
Downed trees and power lines, crushed fences, and blocked roads. Emergency personnel were all over. They were attempting to get to the areas with the most need, but there were so many areas that needed assistance! It became evident that my 2 hour commute was a small inconvenience to what some others were facing that day. Below are just a few pictures from around the community. Clicking on a thumbnail will pull up a full-size photo, and you can scroll through the gallery.
Close to Home
A look down our street seemed a bit calm by the time I made it home. Neighbors shared, though, that earlier, in the height of the storm, our street was more like a river – flooded on both sides.
Just a few months earlier, we had most of the trees in our yard cut down for safety reasons. This particular day was the one where we have been the most grateful for that choice. Our trees were very old and had not been maintained by prior owners. Trimming them back as far as needed would have killed them, so we made the hard decision to say goodbye to them. We are certain, based on the state of our community and street, we would not have come out unscathed in this storm.
Have you experienced crazy weather? Did you end up with destruction or were you able to escape unharmed?