July 25, 2016

Stormy Weather!

Last week we had our share of Midwest heat,humidity and storms.  On Wednesday morning when most of the sisters were working at candy a fierce storm blew in.  A torrential rain was falling accompanied  by lots of lightning and thunder.  There was also a big bang that was much louder than the thunder.  We found that lightening struck the white pine tree outside of the front of the abbey.  The tree literally exploded splitting the tree and sending branches scattered all over the lawn.  We found out later that the lightening burned the roots allowing water to flow into the garage and causing damage to the electrical system.  We were out of water for a few hours and the phone and computers were out for a few days.
Thursday night we had another storm that dumped 3 inches of rain in a few houses causing flooding in the cloister and senior wing.
On Saturday evening we had a tornado warning.  In fact, 2 tornadoes touched down south of us.  The high winds caused a tree to fall on the utility lines causing a power outage at the cabin.
Today it is blissfully sunny and dry and warm.  A relief from all that happened last week!

The magnolia tree behind the white pine tree protected the roof from the force of the fall.

The brand new roof was not damaged!


What it looks like now.