This is the front yard alongside the house. There’s an icy flow of water heading away from me in this picture and coalescing in a run-off towards our backyard and the aforementioned lake. Noteworthy is you can see where the eaves of the house are by the long line of clear terrain.For more than an hour, the pitter-patter of icy feet tapped danced on our roof here in Springfield, MO. Sunday evening, Mar. 13, 2016 will be a memorable date thanks to the three-hour downpour that dumped 5-inches of rain in the Springfield area that night.
The power flickered a few time, but only once did it knock me offline, rendering hours worth of work moot. Thankfully, much of that work had been saved or auto-saved, so I didn’t need to redo anything.
Yet, it was a night of activity. As the hail-soaked rain continued to flood our area, waters in the street across from our house rose. They were so deep and swift that one truck that tried to persevere got irrevocably stuck and no matter how they tried to get it out, it would not budge. For over an hour, the hapless and scientifically illiterate neighbors failed to part the waters so their vehicle could depart, waiting until the rain had slacked off and the waters diminished to free it from its trap.
We had minimal damage, namely a quarter-section of our guttering came down. It had a problem collecting tree and plant matter anyway, so it’s not much of a loss. We’ll still need to have estimates done to see how much repairs will be and if our homeowners insurance will cover it (after deductible, of course).
To show you just how massive the snows were and the resulting aftermath, I’ve uploaded a few pictures that you might find interesting. Here is a gallery. I’ve tried to label each with information about when they were taken and what they depict.
Here is the Yoshio cherry as it starts flowering.
At an inside corner of the roof, a pile of hail pellets began to amass.
The water had risen in our driveway and walkway to the point where it was about to crest over the first step. It had also started seeping into the garage.
That street dead ends at our driveway. It is a rather steep climb as you can see by this truck stuck with water up to the middle of the grill. She probably has some water damage from having gotten out of the truck while it was stuck like this.
At an inside corner of the roof, a pile of hail pellets began to amass. This is the second image of said pile. Taken shortly after the prior.
This is our back lawn with its copious hail (not snow, hail). Notice in the distant background the little lake that formed at the fence of our rear neighbor.
At an inside corner of the roof, a pile of hail pellets began to amass. This is the third image of said pile. Taken shortly after the prior.
This is the front yard alongside the house. There’s an icy flow of water heading away from me in this picture and coalescing in a run-off towards our backyard and the aforementioned lake. Noteworthy is you can see where the eaves of the house are by the long line of clear terrain.
I must caution everyone that this is hail and not snow. I’ve never seen this much hail fall in my life. It’s quite astounding. You can still see the truck, slightly more underwater in the upper left background.
It’s hard to tell, but this is the flow of water from the front yard towards our backyard fence.
This is difficult to see, but where the hail line is you can find the edge of the lake that formed in our backyard. The tiny house in the background is our rear-right neighbor.
Here’s another image of th elake, this time with the cedar trees more prominently displayed and, through them, you can see our actual rear neighbor. This was a massive little lake.
At an inside corner of the roof, a pile of hail pellets began to amass. This is the fourth and final image of said pile. Taken shortly after the prior.
Remember that truck? The water began flowing over the road after awhile, sweeping with it the icebergs of hail that had broken apart.
One of several attempts to assess the situation to figure out if they could tow out the truck. Ultimate result: no.
This is what was left behind from the flooding of the street where the truck was trapped.
This is the morning after the hailstorm, this doesn’t do the heavy fog justice.
They say that fog is pervasive in London. This sight gives England a run for its money.
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