I was wondering how everyone else fared last night. I was sleeping in the basement last night which is normally almost soundproof to the outside world but around 3:00 a.m. the sound of the upstairs windows rattling and a deafening roar of wind and rain woke me from a dead sleep. The lightening never stopped for about an hour. By the time I could get any info about our area on the t.v. the worst was past us but I hear it kept heading from us basically right down I-20 and was even worse by the time it hit Carrol & Douglas counties. I headed outside about 7:30 this morning and to my amazement it was as if nothing in our yard or on our wrap around porch had been touched by the wind even though it was so terrible last night. No limbs or branches down, even light items like lampshades & empty plastic containers were right where I left them....it was very bizarre. Drove 3 miles West into the heart of Heflin and a tornado had obviously come through. It wasn't devestation on a town-wide scale but one street in particular had several roofs blown off, porches collapsed, trees that had fallen on several houses and a truck, limbs and power lines down everywhere, etc... We've never had a tornado strike so close during the time I've lived here.

I hope Shot and everyone else are ok too.
Danielle

Lots of wind and possible tornado damage all across SE GA and along the coast.
Our youngest one was home for Mothers Day and traveled home to Saint Simons Is this afternoon. She avoids the Interstates whenever possible and usually drives on GA15 from near Lake Oconee, through Sandersville and Soperton to US1 near Santa Claus.
She said there was a lot of destruction in Sandersville and throughout that part of GA. She decided to take I-16 near Dublin, to avoid possible road closures and flooding farther South.
Arriving on SSI, she found roads and streets closed and power out. A possible tornado had touched down less than half-mile from her home and trees were down all over the Island. Sea Palms Resort, across the road from her home suffered major damage due to downed trees, roof's damaged and chimneys toppled.
Power was restored a short time ago and she is concerned about what morning will reveal. Apparently she only lost one tree and it missed the house.
A friend, who is a Captain on a mooring tug in Savannah Harbor, said there were many small boats destroyed along the coast and that an ambulance was found in a tree in Darien,GA(about 40 mi. south of Savannah).
We welcomed the rain, but unfortunately a lot of suffering accompanied it.

I hope everyone is OK too.

We are in Macon, so...it's bad, that's true. But, our home was spared. Only a couple of peripheral trees down in the wooded area. No downed tree is good, of course, but we feel very blessed. (We would like some power and a shower of course...I'm just checking in from work...but we are thankful!) A neighbor got a tree through her roof, but most of the big damage was not in our neighborhood.

mk87, I am sure glad to hear you are ok. I imagine that there are quite a few folks still without power this morning.

I hope you are are OK!
We had a small tree down in our backyard last night. My neighbors tree lost some large limbs, and one fell and struck a small weedy cherry tree about 10' tall. It actually had to go, but I was hoping not to loose any more trees without doing it myself!
GGG

Ed and others, thanks for your concern. Yes, we are okay with just some minor damage compared to others and lives lost. The one that I know of that was killed was about 20 miles from where I live. Seems it wrapped a mobile home around a tree north of Dublin off U.S. 441.

My wife and I awoke to thunder and lightning about 7 a.m. I went onto the front porch to check on the two dogs and it started raining real hard. All of a sudden it got almost dark for a few seconds and the wind was terrible. Put both dogs in the garage for the remainder of the storm.
We have two large pecan trees in the back yard and it took some big limbs off plus breaking a swing that I had made out of 4X4's. Turned over and scattered about everything around, but nothing major. We spent Mother's Day cleaning up.

Macon really got hit hard. Amazing not more lives lost than two.

Thanks again for your concern. Got to go back outside and drag off some downed trees around the edge of the woods in back of the house.

Thankful Shot

Shot you lucky dog!

You were out having fun in the storm and I was just getting small winds. I know it was for the best. So for the sake of this conversation Lord wills it that we all can live as much as possible, while taking as little risk possible.
During the Storm, I had several plants blown off my two story patio. My dog ate one of the chamomiles and I never found one of the others. Several things were scattered around and very little true damage was done.

MOUNTAIN HOLLER!

Herboil, haven't seen ya in a while. Glad to hear that you didn't have any real damage either. You still making GGG blush??? lol
You mentioned losing a chamomile... a lady that works with my wife said they had recently bought a mobile home and they lost it during the storm and still have not been able to find it... (of course, they were not at home during the storm).
Update on the fatality near Dublin... a cousin of the victim also works with my wife and said it was the husband killed and the wife is not expected to make it due to head injuries. Two grand kids only received minor injuries.
Took a walk-a-bout yesterday and saw where two deer came into my pea patch after the rain and enjoyed a fine meal.
My corn is really looking good. Got to take a picture of it to show to pnbrown.
All have a blessed and wonderful day.

Counting his blessing..... Shot

Glad to hear that so many on the forum are OK.

Just another quick note: Macon State College has been concentrating on building up its Botanical Garden (pretty much all over the campus) for the past several years. Many of you may know that they sustained significant damage (structural and trees). The tree line separating them from the interstate and service roads is almost completely decimated. Pretty much every tree. I do not know what damage was done to more interior areas, because I have not been able to get over there and see yet. I hope they did not lose too much of their hard work.

Yes, it's said that at least half of the trees on the Macon State Campus have been lost. Some of the more modest neighborhoods were the hardest hit and I'm afraid they may never recover. Sure puts perspective on the chore of taking out a couple of split nectarine and redbud trees in my yard.

Lisa

Some of those Lake Tobosofkee neighborhoods aren't exactly modest, more like extravagent. Still, I know what you mean about the areas around the mall. Several trees down in my neighborhood, supposedly a powerline on fire up the street. Macon got hit hard.

We think we have it hard. Cyclones hitting daily in day to day regimes, the small blessings in life seem dwarfed by massive problems. The little folks swallowed by torrential winds.
Now think about the blessings of the hope and faith in a goodwill alliance across the world for a better environment down to the molecular level. Cascading wondrous thoughts filling the most desecrate and empty voids, falling gracefully over the landscape giving life and rebirth to an ancient cycle.
And every step of the way, twisted with ulterior motives, outside influence that might want to stop the post immense evolution of intelligence.
And thus we are as one in the fight for freedom; the only hope is to consider that which we are destined to loose, that we can only enjoy for a season or a glimpse in the glass of the future.

VOTE GREEN!

OK, and that would be a vote for who?

A vote for yourself, for here and nolw in this particular moment. What are YOU going to do, and how are YOU goin to make the earth better. I've decided not to vote in the presidential election based on the fact that whoever wins, the earth is still loosing.
VOTE GREEN!

I've got to go contemplate this

I've decided I would could and should vote. Thus I will.
Hello oh yonder, to all the greeen lands beyond the rains and summer suns. Greetings to you, that might seek that which is the answer to what was asketh of me.
No more can I step into my yard and view it as a peaceful paradise.
Constantly changing and renewing and keeping to the tradition of honor and pertinence.
I salute thee shot, GG, alpharetta and all the people trying to make the world a better.