We got 2.5 inches rain with our tornado. I'm amazed at how well my plants and trees held up to it, considering the worst damage was less than a mile from us. Always takes my breath away, no matter how many times I see it, to see huge trees totally uprooted and tossed way across the street.
My lawn chairs didn't even blow over this time, and we had 4 windstorms last year that blew chairs and tables over. We had a gust of 84 mph and the tornado was F-3 which means winds 158-206 mph.
We have 2 large dead cottonwoods down by our creek and I expected them to fall. We leave them up because several birds and critters nest in them. i've even seen a bald eagle perched on the top. When the creek gets below flood level and we can cross the drive again, I'll see how stable they are. It's so incongruous to drive through town on a bright sunny day and see so many trees twisted and broken, light poles snapped, signs shredded. Streets are closed and police are guarding neighborhoods where homes were destroyed.
