Earlier this afternoon we had an intense thunder storm move through the area. Where I live, it wasn't too bad, but Williamsport wasn't as lucky. I really wish I went to some of the other neighborhoods because I was just told by a friend that the damage was pretty heavy. Downtown faired pretty well except for a few places. Here are some photos from the event.

 

Trees down near Millionaires Row:

 

Some debris on Third Street. Basically every street in town was strewn with branches, powerlines, and trash. Even parts of buildings. We'll get to that later. See the grey building? I am planning to move there sometime soon:

 

Not to mention, before I got into town, every single traffic light was out. When I arrived, there still were about a dozen lights out in the Downtown area:

 

 

I guess either the EMA or City Works set up a bunch of temporary stop signs at signaled intersections:

 

My friend who was taking photos when the storm hit said the wind almost knocked him down. I guess he was lucky:

 

And I guess Mother Nature has a sense of humor:

 

Remember when I mentioned parts of building strewn about the streets?

 

Residents next door in the now temporarily condemned apartments said this building just recently got a new roof. So much for that:

 

Powerlines, roof, oh and a fence lying around:

 

Wind sucks:

 

It actually really blows:

 

Roofing hanging from the powerlines. Oh joy:

 

About 5 cars sitting in this lot were damaged by the roof:

 

Anyone need some good 2x4's?

 

And the funny thing is, those apartments I plan to move into are at the end of this row of buildings:

 

EDIT: I just read the article on the Sun Gazette's website and they said this storm produced microbursts. That's what caused all the damage. They said gusts were up to 80mph in some areas.

Wow.

Pretty severe! Some storms can hit so hard, with little warning.

 

A couple of years ago in my little hometown I was taking pictures of ominous dark clouds and the eerie light that precedes some storms, when things got dangerous very quickly. I was in an open lot in an industrial area when the wind kicked up and I ducked behind the corner of a building to take refuge. Seconds later, an empty oil drum went flying past where I had been standing.

 

I think the wind only lasted for a minute or two, immediately followed by several minutes of torrential downpour that overwhelmed the storm sewers and had water running in the streets. By the time it ended, there were trees down all over town, power out everywhere, and a lumber shed in pieces in the street not far from me. It was a scary and exhilarating experience.

It's always sad when towns get ripped apart like this, fortunately this one fared pretty well.  Let me tell you, tornadoes are not fun and exciting things to be in. 

It's always sad when towns get ripped apart like this, fortunately this one fared pretty well.  Let me tell you, tornadoes are not fun and exciting things to be in. 

A tornado a few years ago actually did Kendallville, Indiana a favor. Most of the commercial building facades had been clad in aluminum in the sixites, and current residents and business owners had no memory of what the buildings looked like under the cladding.

 

The tornado tore up a lot of the cladding, and when people saw what had been hiding under it, they got inspired to fix up and restore. The result is a rather handsome main street that replaced a drab and dowdy one.

^Haha awesome. That's so great. And we didn't get hit by a tornado, which actually are somewhat common here in the mid summer. The news reports said it was a microburst. I guess they are somewhat like downbursts and unlike tornadoes, they have a narrow channel of destruction. Luckily no one got seriously hurt and most of the damage in the area was tree and minor structure damage from the falling trees. That building losing its roof I think was the worst of the damage in Williamsport. The city did lose power for the rest of the night though.