Surviving High Winds

Years ago, my 4-H Horse and Pony Club leader stabled his horses in an old barn much like the one Abby and her friends use. Strong winds one night brought that barn down while the horses were in it (none were hurt, luckily.) I think of that sometimes when I am visiting Abby in the old barn and wonder, "Could that happen to this barn?"

I thought I might find out yesterday.

A big storm came through at midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning with 100 mph winds. (Believe it or not, I slept through it all, but Craig was up and thought we might be having a tornado. He said our home actually shook, and that he heard popping noises on the second floor. Miraculously, aside from overturned patio furniture, our home was unscathed.)

I woke up to reports of heavy damage, especially to Bookston, a town a little to the north of us. My first thought was of Abby and the herd, also a few miles to the north, sheltering in the old barn from the storm overnight.

I texted Tim right away. He has herniated a disc in his back and I wasn't sure just how mobile he was that morning.

But Tim being Tim, he had already checked the barn and horses. (I am so lucky to keep Abby at his place!)

Then I turned my attention to Brookston - my mother owns property there. (An orchard and fifteen acres of woods.) News reports said the town was without power and that the two highways that intersect in it were closed due to downed trees and power lines. I drove up at noon to check the orchard property and see if we had sustained any damage.

Because 43 was closed, I had to turn onto S 200 E and go the back way to the orchard.

The grain silos at S 200 E and E 1250 S, just a mile from our property, had been damaged. 

 Two had been pushed to the side...

 ... and another completely shoved off its pad and crumpled.

Crops had sustained wind damage, too. Field after field had corn all leaning toward the east.

The woods my mother owns were in good shape, although I could see at least one tree had been snapped off at the top.

Sadly, some of the old apple trees had sustained some damage.

It is a little hard to tell, but these are more apple trees that have been toppled.

Surprisingly, despite the massive tree damage, the houses I saw had very little damage, even those surrounded by trees that had been destroyed. There was rotation documented over the area, but my guess is that this was not a tornado - it was either a macroburst, derecho, or straight line winds. (The National Weather Service will be out today and giving its opinion later. Update at 9:00 PM: The National Weather Service has determined that the damage was caused by straight line winds and not a tornado.)

In the meantime, Tim's old barn has weathered yet another Indiana wind event.