Salem Storm

Yesterday Mike and I were in our apt and we heard rain beating down on the plexiglas roof of the sunroom. We were also hearing the occasional THUMP from a tree branch hitting the roof. (The “woods” just south of our yard are filled with giant oak and maple trees that are at least 100 feet tall.) I went outside and was surprised by the swaying trees.

[It brought back memories of winter 2006 in Duvall, Washington when we had winds over 70mph and three 100+ foot cedar trees were toppled in our front yard and two more in our back yard. Our private little paradise was never the same after that loss.]


We brought Sitka inside the apt and watched from the window – glad that only small branches were falling. The rain subsided, the excitement died down, and we went on playing with Mike’s new fishing gear (that’s another post!) We had no idea what was about to happen…

BOOM!!! It was a crash like I’d never heard. I thought something had come through the plexiglass roof, but it was much more than that. The powerful wind uprooted an oak tree from the next-door neighbor’s yard and it smashed into Ron and Betty’s deck roof!!! The same place we had our wonderful May Day Luncheon just the day before!


We all gathered outside to assess the situation and I took pictures. Luckily, the damage is limited to the deck roof, fence and some outdoor lighting. The neighbor’s house wasn’t touched and no one was hurt. The wind was still blowing strong so we all went back inside.

So there you have it. A rogue storm. Lunch one day. Busted roof the next. Betty has more detail about the storm...