Summer Storm Refugees

It has been a crazy couple of days.  And here we are, back in Chesapeake.

On Friday, it was really hot.  We were trying to make the most of it.  We bought a second window unit for downstairs, which made the house so pleasantly cool.  Eliot and I played in a kiddie pool out front while Chris washed the car.  Then we played in the sprinkler out back.  Eliot had so much fun running around and through the sprinkler.  Some people were complaining about the 100-degree day, but we had fun.

That night, the winds started blowing in from Ohio.  I quickly went out front to grab our bucket and a pair of shoes I had left.  The lights flickered; the power went out.  This was about 9:30 pm.  Before we knew it, our neighbor's kiddie pool was tumbling through our front yard.  Chris got a lantern and we set up camp in the stairs away from windows.  We could have gone to the basement, but it is a little dirty and the storm didn't seem that bad.

At one point, Chris tried to go out back to get something, but he couldn't even open the door.  I later learned that some of the winds were up to 75 miles per hour.  By 11:00 pm, the winds had calmed down a reasonable amount.  Eliot slept on the couch and we watched the storm from our front window.  We watched a tree across the street break in half.

The next morning, we walked around the neighborhood to survey the damage.  We barely walked a block and saw four large trees down.  One across a neighbor's fence.  Another across a neighbor's roof.  As I raked up leaves, branches, and twigs in our front yard, I was thankful that our damage was limited to Chris's basketball goal backboard breaking and a dented downspout on the gutter.

Still without power, we drove around.  Lines, trees, and street lights were down and damaged everywhere.  We didn't see one working street light.  I'm no expert, but through all of the hurricanes I have seen growing up by the coast, I don't think I've ever seen this much damage.  27,000 people are without power in Lynchburg alone.  And the heat continued to bare down, reaching 100 degrees.

For Eliot's sake, we decided that we couldn't stay.  Our power company isn't even listing our city on the estimate for restoring power.  The surrounding counties are hoping to have power back by next Saturday (7/7), so I guess around then.  They're overwhelmed.  And with 100 degree heat, Eliot just cries as he gets so hot and wasn't drinking enough water considering the situation.  We hoped to go visit Chris's parents in northern Virginia, but his dad said it might be hard getting in.  One million people in DC are without power and the 911 service was even out.

Instead, we decided to come back to Chesapeake.  At first, I worried that we were overreacting.  Do people really leave when they don't have AC because it is going to be hot?  Then I read that it might be a week.  Plus, it seems like the weatherman is calling for more storms almost every night that could lead to more damage and complications.  A lot of people in Lynchburg (especially those with little ones) are leaving.  Also, we need the internet to do our jobs, so it only makes sense.  I knew it was for the best.

I am so thankful that we are safe, our house is in tact, we have a cool place to stay, and our jobs allow us to travel whenever we need to.