I was working Saturday morning at the radio station and about 8:30 another storm was approaching Lac qui Parle County. I stepped outside and saw the dark and swirly clouds approaching fast. I must have PTSD from the number of wind storms we have had this summer because I got really uneasy watching yet another storm approach our area.

With technology the way it is today, I was glued to my phone monitoring the radar, it didn’t look good because all I was seeing was red in Lac qui Parle County. Thunderstorm warnings were issued and I thought here we go with rain, hail and wind again. I was thinking of the one tree I have left in my backyard and how it has been damaged already from the storms past. If another wind storm hit, it won’t be standing when I get home. To my surprise Madison received one inch of rain which was much needed, no hail and no significant wind. I saw on social media sites some people had more trees down in our area and some building damage, but Madison lucked out with Saturday’s storms.

We have had three major winds storms this summer, damaging a number buildings and taking down many trees. We even had a tornado touchdown in Madison that did significant damage in a neighborhood. Farm sites in the Madison area also got hit really hard. Roxie and I were without power for two days during the first storm. So after that storm I went out and bought a pretty good size generator so we could have electricity during the next outage. My generator still sits in the garage and not ready for use. So, with each storm approaching I get frustrated and upset with myself because I haven’t got the generator ready. I learned that being without power for two days isn’t fun. Our sump pump didn’t run so we had water in our basement. We went out and sat in our car to charge our cell phones. We had to throw some food out of our refrigerator. It was a big inconvenience. So my goal is to get that generator ready this week.

What really makes me sad is all the trees that are lost. Thousands of trees have been destroyed because of these storms. They do so much for the environment. We need trees and I am hoping people will plant new ones everywhere. I had to take down two big trees in my backyard and my neighbor lost a huge tree. Those trees gave me shade for my patio. If you follow me on social media, you know how important my patio is to me. I enjoy sitting out there early in the morning having a cup of coffee and in the evening sitting with my wife and grilling and just relaxing. We had shade, lots of shade. Now we have none and it is really sad. So my plan is to plant some larger trees to get some shade back, but it will take a few years.

It has been quite the summer for intense storms, damaging storms. I am looking forward to a nice two day light rain with no wind or hail, or lightning. Just a quiet rain!