Rain, Rain, Tornado, Go Away

What an adventure the last week has been. This summer has been drenched in rain, so when yet another thunderstorm started up last wednesday, I didn't think anything of it. For about an hour or so there was a lot of thunder and lightning (and OH the humidity!) but really, that was it. I even told the boys, "See the storm can't be that bad, the wind isn't even blowing!" Oh how wrong I can be!

Once the wind started picking up and the sky turned black, I got a little freaked out. I was trying desperately to keep my cool so the kids didn't get scared. The wind continued and stronger and stronger and I actually worried that something might fly through the window so I calmly asked the kids to 'hang out' in the windowless hallway. They looked at me a little strange. Sweet Corinna was asleep in her crib this whole time completely unffected by the raging storm outside. It was so strange! Hail had started at this point and I kinda noticed smoke in the yard. I went to check on things and I noticed a lot of downed trees! BIG ones, totally uprooted. Our tent was fine.

This part of the storm was quick, maybe 15 minutes in total. Then everything just stopped and went to survey the damage. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The tent had blown down the birch path (it had been set up since the weekend when a thunderstorm had soaked it and we were trying to let it dry out!) Many, many trees down. Luckily, and strangely, no damage to the house though. When Spike got home from work we all walked around outside. We discovered a sinkhole in the pavement in the driveway, the tent ripped out of the ground with the stakes still in it, and just tons of branches down and many trees sideways. I learned later that a tornado had touched down in Wantage, NJ about 10 miles from here.