Friday night’s thunderstorm did some damage

Friday night’s thunderstorm (actually Sat. morning around 1 am) did some damage on the north side of Northfield.

storm damage to street light posts storm damage to street light posts storm damage to trees on Highland Ave storm damage to trees on Highland Ave
At least four of the historic-type street lights on the east side of Hwy 3 near The Crossing blew down. And many trees near St. Olaf took a beating, including these on Highland Ave., one of which landed on a parked car according to this comment from Josh Dale who lives nearby:

I live on the north-east corner of St. Olaf property, off Highland Ave. The power went out shortly after 1am. No power=no warnings, other than a lightning strike, blown transformers or downed power lines…it was a good several minutes after the power went out that it started hailing and huge branches started ripping off trees in the area. A large part of a tree landed on two cars parked on the roadway of Highland Ave in front of my home. I’m sure many of you are now aware of the significant tree damage around town, especially on the north side. Luckily no one that I’ve heard has been injured by any debris last night, but the possibilities are always there.

We can’t all be expected to rely on media sources for weather warnings. Sirens are quite necessary. If I get woken up at 2am by sirens, I am thankful for the chance to seek shelter if necessary instead of waking up to my family, friends or myself in danger.

Jane Moline commented:

There was substantial damage from the winds with trees down, street lights down. In one case a tree on a house. We lost a bunch of big branches here on the farm, and there was a tree blocking half the road on 2nd street in Dundas.

Anyone else know of damage from this storm?

(To discuss whether or not the warning sirens should have been deployed, see/add to the discussion attached to this blog post.)

10 Comments

  1. A large pine tree fell by the south end of Davis Hall at Carleton (by the corner of 1st and Union). Luckily it fell away from the building, but it did take out a small sapling on it’s way down. Many other trees on the Carleton campus lost large branches. A large part of a tree fell on the north side of 5th St between Washington and Union. It seemed to have missed the cars parked in the driveway, but was blocking the sidewalk.

    July 25, 2010
  2. Mary Schier said:

    I noticed a couple of huge branches down in the Carleton arboretum, along the path you enter from Oak St.

    July 25, 2010
  3. kiffi summa said:

    I hope someone can answer this question of mine: what happens to the birds roosting in the trees in a storm so wild it shakes the trees to that extent?

    Usually the birds, cardinals and robins, start to sing around 5 AM, and I haven’t heard them the last two mornings since the storm… are a lot of birds killed in a storm that severe?

    July 26, 2010
  4. Phil Poyner said:

    From Birdwatchers Digest:
    “All those who have had the misfortune to find themselves doing a Christmas Count, or a May Count, or any other bird count on a day when the winds exceed 25 miles an hour, know that high winds do not blow small birds around; they ground them. In a high wind, a small bird will almost allow itself to be picked up rather than fly. Which makes sense. A bird weighing only a few ounces simply cannot deal with winds that strong. In the few instances when you see one trying to fly in high winds, it goes a short distance and plunges to earth.”

    At least that’s what those folks say…

    July 26, 2010
  5. I heard a lot around this morning. I think they have plenty of places to hunker down. In my yard and east side deck, I had only one little branch from the honey locust tree on my deck.
    Lots of little enviroments or mini-climates are created by buildings, fences, arbor vitae trees are especially good for little ones…the bigger ones like cardinals and blue jays love the big heavy evergreen trees and bushes. Here they will find shelter against the wind and rains and strong sun rays.

    Birds will usually pick out the least disturbed areas for the home initially and then find out about other places. They know well in advance that a storm is coming, unless they are young and out the first year. If they don’t learn fast, they might not make it.

    I think the biggest killers are other animals and birds, cars, and lack of good water or very extreme temperatures.

    July 26, 2010
  6. I heard a lot around this morning. I think they have plenty of places to hunker down. In my yard and east side deck, I had only one little branch from the honey locust tree on my deck.
    Lots of little enviroments or mini-climates are created by buildings, fences, arbor vitae trees are especially good for little ones…the bigger ones like cardinals and blue jays love the big heavy evergreen trees and bushes. Here they will find shelter against the wind and rains and strong sun rays.

    Birds will usually pick out the least disturbed areas for the home initially and then find out about other places. They know well in advance that a storm is coming, unless they are young and out the first year. If they don’t learn fast, they might not make it.

    Oh, and I hope taxpayers didn’t have to pay for those questionable street lamps.

    I think the biggest killers are other animals and birds, cars, and lack of good water or very extreme temperatures.

    July 26, 2010
  7. Josh Dale said:

    my sister took a couple pictures I believe DURING the storm of the tree fall on Highland ave…How do I get them to you?

    July 26, 2010

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