The Last Ike Entry
Alrighty!
Ike hit at about 2.30 in the morning. I wish I could have taken some great photos, but my camera phone doesn't allow it. Additionally, I slept like a big baby through most of the storm. Storms are like Nyquil to me. They hit, I sleep. I woke up several times to my Grandma shouting and to some great big ole limbs falling on the house.
At about 6.30 am the eye of the storm passed. Grandma and I went outside to take a gander. It was pitch black outside. Except, the sky was a dark glowing purple. Behind all the mess of clouds, the sun was trying to rise and it made the sky glow, but I couldn't see anything except black silhouettes against the purple sky.
Needless to say, the eye was very uneventful and I went back to sleep. I woke up right before the back half of the storm hit. You could hear it coming. It didn't sound like a tornado, but you could hear the wall of storm approaching... like a train. It got louder and louder... then BOOM as it hit the wall in my room (which faced the storm). The house shook. My window was the only storm-facing window that we didn't board up (we couldn't get the screws into the brick), so I was slightly worried about debris flying in. I fell asleep again and only woke up sporadically through the night as trees fell and stuff hit the house.
When the dangerous portion of the storm passed, the neighbors were outside assessing the damage and picking up the pieces. It was still pouring rain, but that didn't stop anybody. People were pulling trees off their houses and cars, removing boards, checking on neighbors, picking up fences, and cleaning up the debris. The streets were relatively clear and everything was as orderly as possible before it even stopped raining.
Grandma and I drove around for a bit to see the damage. It was amazing. Kids were headed down to one of the flooded streets with rafts and wakeboards in tow. We went down there to see. It was flooded up to our knees. Huge trees were snapped clean in half and many were uprooted. We drove over to my Papa's house (he evacuated to Dallas) to assess some damage. They hadn't cleaned up their neighborhood, so it was like dodging landmines. We drove over several downed power lines (you really can't see them), and dodged large trees. Luckily, his house was relatively undamaged, but his trees suffered.
I have quite a few pictures of the aftermath, but my phone isn't cooperating, so I can't download them right now. There are some photos on the KHOU website and a lot of information about the storm. The story is that it could take as long as 30 days to restore power. I sure hope not.
I reckon now is a good time to volunteer.
Ike hit at about 2.30 in the morning. I wish I could have taken some great photos, but my camera phone doesn't allow it. Additionally, I slept like a big baby through most of the storm. Storms are like Nyquil to me. They hit, I sleep. I woke up several times to my Grandma shouting and to some great big ole limbs falling on the house.
At about 6.30 am the eye of the storm passed. Grandma and I went outside to take a gander. It was pitch black outside. Except, the sky was a dark glowing purple. Behind all the mess of clouds, the sun was trying to rise and it made the sky glow, but I couldn't see anything except black silhouettes against the purple sky.
Needless to say, the eye was very uneventful and I went back to sleep. I woke up right before the back half of the storm hit. You could hear it coming. It didn't sound like a tornado, but you could hear the wall of storm approaching... like a train. It got louder and louder... then BOOM as it hit the wall in my room (which faced the storm). The house shook. My window was the only storm-facing window that we didn't board up (we couldn't get the screws into the brick), so I was slightly worried about debris flying in. I fell asleep again and only woke up sporadically through the night as trees fell and stuff hit the house.
When the dangerous portion of the storm passed, the neighbors were outside assessing the damage and picking up the pieces. It was still pouring rain, but that didn't stop anybody. People were pulling trees off their houses and cars, removing boards, checking on neighbors, picking up fences, and cleaning up the debris. The streets were relatively clear and everything was as orderly as possible before it even stopped raining.
Grandma and I drove around for a bit to see the damage. It was amazing. Kids were headed down to one of the flooded streets with rafts and wakeboards in tow. We went down there to see. It was flooded up to our knees. Huge trees were snapped clean in half and many were uprooted. We drove over to my Papa's house (he evacuated to Dallas) to assess some damage. They hadn't cleaned up their neighborhood, so it was like dodging landmines. We drove over several downed power lines (you really can't see them), and dodged large trees. Luckily, his house was relatively undamaged, but his trees suffered.
I have quite a few pictures of the aftermath, but my phone isn't cooperating, so I can't download them right now. There are some photos on the KHOU website and a lot of information about the storm. The story is that it could take as long as 30 days to restore power. I sure hope not.
I reckon now is a good time to volunteer.
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