F2 Tornado Strikes Hammond WI - June 11, 2005, 3:20pm CT!

I took the above picture just seconds after the tornado flew over my home. My family and my cats are all safe, though they were extremely shaken at the time. I remember hearing the sirens go off and checking the weather. I looked outside and saw what looked to be a small funnel cloud in the distance. I asked Chad about it, but he said that it was just a cloud has he saw no rotation in it. I was sitting on the couch in front of our picture window with two of my cats, while the other two dozed lazily on the floor next to Chad. About a minute and a half later came the terrifying sound of a thousand breaking pencils continuously at the same time. Without time to head towards our interior half bathroom (the safest part of our home) we headed for the hallway that connects the living room with our bedroom area. The cats bolted in every direction. People who think their pets will warn then of the impending doom of a tornado need only took at the example of my cats to know that this is, unfortunately, false: they were just as dumb about the whole thing as we were! The police dept made us leave for the night but we were able to return to our homes the next day to start the long process of clean up.

Fortunately, not a sole was killed and except for one neighbor's dog (who I'm told is feeling much better) no one was hurt. Considering the damage to the homes around us, Chad and I were extremely fortunate. We still need a new roof, siding, windows, patio door, and all the junk that goes with those items, but the interior of our home is fine except for some cracks in the drywall in the garage, which is easily fixed. Our brand new pond that we just put in was trashed, but we've just finished cleaning it up so it looks much better now! The 6-plex behind me that had the most damage of all is already torn down - nothing but the foundation remains! Right now it looks like all the rest of the homes will be repaired, even the one that's missing roof and garage, that moved EIGHT INCHES off the slab! And least anyone wonder, only one twin home on my street so far as I know has a basement.

The following are photo galleries of the damage done to both my home and to my neighbors home. All of these pictures were taken by either me or by Chad. At just three weeks before our wedding we REALLY didn’t need all the extra stress of trying to fix a house, but considering what could of happen we are just thankful that it was not worse. Oh, and BTW, the photo above was featured in the MN Pioneer Press, Sunday June 12, 2005, and apparently one of the news stations filming me during cleanup on the street made it on CNN National News! I can't imagine the point of showing that clip, I mean honestly, "Hammondite heaves bag full of water-soaked insulation into dumpster after tornado terrorizes her home" doesn't sound all that exciting to me! Oh well, to each his own ;).

My House

Neighbors Homes