This past Thursday, a violent but brief hailstorm pounded parts of the city. Out where the kids live, North West of the city, there was 2" hail, driven by high winds, causing quite a bit of damage.
The house the kids live in got clobbered. Three sides of the house look like this:
And the roof took a beating, too. I'm surprised they didn't have some broken windows.
The nice 1/8 acre garden they had looks like the not-so-jolly Green Giant came in and stomped on it.
AFAIK, my wife has never been through a real Midwestern-style thunderstorm, with high winds, driving rain, and large hail. Fort Collins is a bit protected, being in the Cache La Poudre valley, but it's still in open enough country to get really clobbered. The last time we were there in the summer, I notice really big anvil-heads to the East, and mentioned to my wife that somebody was really going to catch it. Sure enough, as we got in the car the EAS warnings came on the radio about severe storms in Weld County, with tornado warnings. Seeing the anvil-heads reminded me of growing up in Illinois, where we had weather like that several times per summer.
It's one thing to see the damage a storm like this can do, and another thing to be right in the middle of one, and not really being able to do much about it.
I hope whatever we buy has a basement!
You will probably find higher homeowner insurance than CA. Flood insurance is a good idea.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program
Sucks when it happens to you but keeps my insurance adjuster sister gainfully employed.
There were a couple of places we were interested in, but our daughter-in-laws father advised us to think twice about it because they were definitely in (or on?) the Poudre flood plain.
DeleteHe's been in the area for over 35 years and knows the "don't buy here" areas pretty well.
That local knowledge is invaluable.
DeleteHe owns a construction company that does mostly high-end homes, and knows the area from Cheyenne to Denver, and from the Front Range out to 100 miles East very well.
DeleteHe's a really good guy, and we're glad to be "in the family"!
Yep, use that local course knowledge. And basements ARE a damn good idea!
ReplyDeleteCan't beat talking to a local to get "the lay of the land".
DeleteMy wife is dreaming about having a basement! For what reason I don't know, but growing up in Illinois 95% of the houses had basements. If the house was built on a slab or had a crawl space, it was generally a pretty cheap house.
It may be too late for this time, but another blog I follow posted tips today on what to do with a garden damaged by hail. Hopefully there won't be a next time, but if there is, maybe your kids can read it for next time. http://commonsensehome.com/damaged-crops/
ReplyDeleteI am glad there were no broken windows. Be safe and God bless.
Thanks, Linda. I'll forward that link to them.
DeleteJim, I was the Nat'l Flood Insurance administrator for a county in Missouri, way back when. DEFINITELY check with the county before you buy, and make sure your new home is not in a flood plain. And if it is, buy the insurance. No kidding.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's something we'll do!
DeleteLocal knowledge from someone you trust is invaluable. So glad you have family for that, but I would also use county records, as Rev Paul said.
ReplyDeleteI'll look into the county records. I'm sure in these "Internet Days" I can also find a history of flooding in FTC.
DeleteI know the Wikipedia has a couple of entries on past floods in FTC, and I can use their footnotes to reference the original sources.
I live in Alberta and I have experienced hail like this a few times.
ReplyDeleteYep, the wide open plains can get some pretty severe weather.
DeleteIt looks like their house was subject to a drive-by with automatic weapons.
ReplyDeleteReally big hail storms are in the once a decade realm here, if that frequent. I do remember a few in the last 40 years or so.
We've had a few here in SoCal the last 5 years or so. It was fairly common back in Illinois.
DeleteI would also use county records, as Rev Paul said.
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