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USA Mid-west weather


abn deuce

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I m sure you will have heard that the states of Nebraska and Iowa yesterday had quite a bit of strong winds and huge hail storm damage . My house was significantly impacted by what they said was 2" TO 3" PLUS sized hail .I work 30 miles away so by the time I got home the damage was done , Most all of the north facing windows broken and blown into the house , siding is riddled with holes beyond counting . Put up plastic sheet on the inside of the windows to stem the drafts and driving rain as best I could.

 

On the other side we didn't loose power or had any flooding < on top of a hill here> Thousands of others have had damage to their property as well .

 

There are at least 3 car dealer ships in my town and one Woodhouse Ford , Blair Nebraska who has 4500 vehicles on his several dealerships in Omaha as well as here was reported on the news this morning as having 100 million plus U.S. dollars in damage alone . You can google truck mountain and see this largest property.

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I m sure you will have heard that the states of Nebraska and Iowa yesterday had quite a bit of strong winds and huge hail storm damage . My house was significantly impacted by what they said was 2" TO 3" PLUS sized hail .I work 30 miles away so by the time I got home the damage was done , Most all of the north facing windows broken and blown into the house , siding is riddled with holes beyond counting . Put up plastic sheet on the inside of the windows to stem the drafts and driving rain as best I could.

 

On the other side we didn't loose power or had any flooding < on top of a hill here> Thousands of others have had damage to their property as well .

 

There are at least 3 car dealer ships in my town and one Woodhouse Ford , Blair Nebraska who has 4500 vehicles on his several dealerships in Omaha as well as here was reported on the news this morning as having 100 million plus U.S. dollars in damage alone . You can google truck mountain and see this largest property.

 

 

Sorry to hear about this.

The weather can get nasty at time.

Hopefully the damage gets repaired soon. Take care.

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We had a severe hailstorm go through a country town called Kalgoorlie in Australia, years ago. Given it was in the desert most the cars were on the streets.

 

It took 3 years for the insurance companies to catch up with the car repairs. With the numbers you are talking I wonder what they will do.

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Thanks for all the words of concern , We were not home at the time, pretty thankful for that in a way . if you look on the interwebs for stories about this they list 12 people were injured (and treated at the local Hospital )about 3 miles away in a parking lot at Walmart when hail smashed through the glass on their cars and they were cut and bruised as a result.

 

Yes it is plastic siding very common in the USA , another product many use here is a pressed paper siding that looks like clapboard its cheap looks just like wood but if the paint gets damaged and water gets to it then its junk , another is a cement product that again looks like clapboard a bit more money very durable not sure if homes with that had any damage.

 

The wind was very odd in that friends of ours about 5 miles east and sit on hill top a bit higher than where I am received only rain and wind and NO hail ?

 

Many homes have a few or all the windows broken on the West and North sides of the home since that was the direction of the winds . The town of Fort Calhoun pop. about 900 they reported that every building suffered some level of damage . Blair by the way has a pop. of about 7,990 and so far they have not said what percent of homes etc where hit but I know others suffered much more damage that I.

 

We do seem to have one of our cats missing it and a second were rescued last November when they repeatedly appeared on the door step seeking shelter and we put food out for them . It was necessary to use a live trap to do this as they were feral and can only think that when the hail broke the window in the lower bed room (the set of three ) you see in the photo that it leaped out into the storm and not seen since.

The update on the Ford dealer is now estimated their loss at 162 million u.s. dollars , no figures on damages for the other property damages yet . Had the insurance company out yesterday to inspect and give an estimate for our place . Have no idea how long this will all take as there is so much damage to so many building and only a small number of contractors to hire , while having to avoid all the traveling bad outfits we call fly by nights

 

This a another part of the siding that faced North . The plastic siding had been put on over that paper siding before I bought the place 10 years ago as a result of earlier hail damage.

IMG_20140604_122808_305_zpsf7e1bb0d.jpg

Edited by abn deuce
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I been meaning to add that there is a lot of Corn and Soybeans grown in the area and from the drive I took around the town last afternoon that if the plants were say 6" or less they were beaten into the ground and if they were 1' or larger then they were stripped and broken . Most all the farms in the area will be replanting soon.

The string of storms has continued has severe weather last Sunday hit mostly south of here in Omaha , then Tuesday's storm hit here with 60-80 plus mph winds and large hail, and similar high winds down in Lincoln ,then Thursday rain and wind here and 1" hail south and east of here in north Omaha, Friday evening heavy rain and gusting winds here with severe hail north of here in Tekamah . Today has started off with light rain and possible more rain ??? tomorrow .

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Eastern Nebraska continues to have severe weather , this last Sunday the 15th had a hail heavy rain and damaging hail storm pass about 15 or so miles North of here didn't hear about much of any damage.

 

Yesterday the 16th the town of Pilger Nebraska about 70 miles North North West of here was hit with twin tornado's population had been 350 or so. One 5 yr old girl was killed a dozen suffered injuries and 75 percent of the town was leveled . Hopefully they think by the middle of next week this storm pattern will finally change and head east .

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Eastern Nebraska continues to have severe weather , this last Sunday the 15th had a hail heavy rain and damaging hail storm pass about 15 or so miles North of here didn't hear about much of any damage.

 

Yesterday the 16th the town of Pilger Nebraska about 70 miles North North West of here was hit with twin tornado's population had been 350 or so. One 5 yr old girl was killed a dozen suffered injuries and 75 percent of the town was leveled . Hopefully they think by the middle of next week this storm pattern will finally change and head east .

 

Seen the double tornado on TV, looked very menacing.

 

One thing allways puzzles me.

Why are the houses in tornado alley made of wood?

As a Dutchman in a brick house these wooden housen look like luxury barns.

 

Off course a F5 will flatten anything but these wooden houses can't withstand anything.

Maybe a brick one would at least leave a shell behind to rebuild.

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Your right, its lower cost of wood construction . There are a number of companies across the USA ,what they call factory built home builders who build wooden homes in factory production lines and then deliver the modular sections say a two unit set to form a ranch style home or a four unit set for a two story home . The higher end or luxury homes in my area often have brick facades . Another construction option is earth sheltered where the home is built into a hillside or if the terrain is too flat they bury the home under a few feet of soil and would have an open center as a court yard the last two styles are rare and costly and not everyone would be able to adjust to that living style .

 

So until people and insurance companies change things will stay the same .example if the insurance companies said they would not insure wooden homes or Mobile trailer homes and would give cheaper rates to those who built earth sheltered homes , then people would have an incentive .

 

The central United States covers so much territory it hard to imagine any one way to protect everyone from the threat , so We roll the dice and hope the twister either never happens or hits somewhere else .

 

(Some towns and cities my go a decade or two between hits or longer)

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Ok, I allready thought costs would be a issue.

The Insurance this is something I didn't know.

 

Guess if your wealthy it would make sense to make a house with of reinforced concrete walls and steel window shutters.

I'm sure that what basically would be a bunker it could still look like a normal (brick), but house giving way more security.

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Since man has lived on the surface of the planet , no place is truly safe . You either deal with floods, tornado's, hurricanes ,blizzards , droughts . sink holes , landslides , earthquakes . volcanic activity or tsunami or a combination of any of the these.

 

Luckily one can buy insurance to limit the loss caused by mother nature yippy ! If not for that coverage I would be very much in dire condition from this storm alone . Others have been hit harder in the eastern portion of this and neighboring states so I know I have been lucky .

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Since man has lived on the surface of the planet , no place is truly safe . You either deal with floods, tornado's, hurricanes ,blizzards , droughts . sink holes , landslides , earthquakes . volcanic activity or tsunami or a combination of any of the these.

 

Luckily one can buy insurance to limit the loss caused by mother nature yippy ! If not for that coverage I would be very much in dire condition from this storm alone . Others have been hit harder in the eastern portion of this and neighboring states so I know I have been lucky .

 

Ain't that the truth!

Back in 1995 in the Netherlands the rivers threatened to break the dikes and we had to evacuate.

Luckily they they didn't break.

 

The only thing we can do is try to "defend" ourselves as good as possible.

But that can get very expensive.

 

Hopefully you and so many others affected can get things up and running soon.

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Yes , thing will get going shortly sign with a general contractor on Saturday to start the repairs / remodeling . So its a win for the City increased property value, win the insurance company as the insurance coverage will have to increase to cover the raised value , a win for the contractor and all the trades shop etc. that will supply things . Not such a win for me and the wife as the thousands of questions and choices to be made .

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  • 1 month later...

Update the roof has now been replaced it was finished a week and a half ago , had a bit of rain over the weekend and things seem OK , the siding was replaced along with the gutters and downspouts they finished that late last week , Still waiting on the widows , doors and interior work . It will be nice to be able to have sun light shining in again where I still have wood covering the broken windows .

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