What a storm!

We had a huge storm on Thursday night.  Bob and I woke up at 3am to pounding rain, thunder, lightning, terrible wind and no power.  Friday morning we woke to sunshine, a beautiful day, no power in most of West Michigan and lots of damage.

Here are a few pictures I took around the area, and a few that I got from friends and family.

In our yard, the damage was minimal, lots of leaves and branches on the ground.

 Streets were covered with debris.

Some streets were closed because power lines were down.

Some streets were closed because trees were down.

Our nephew's truck was buried under branches, but had only minimal damage.

 At our daughter Laura's house, this tree split nearly in half and fell through the fence.

Their neighbors are unable to use their back yard at the moment because it's filled with a tree.

 Some other friends were on vacation, and were camping.  I can't imagine what it was like to be in a camper on that night.  We're thankful for their safety!  When they came home, they found lots of big trees down in their yard.

Some other friends had this tree come down on their house.  They are ok, but have some work ahead of them, and some repair to be done!

We are told the winds reached 90 mph in our area, and 12 miles to the west it was recorded at 100 mph.  In that area a man died when a tree fell on his house as he slept.

Our power was restored late Friday morning, but many people still have no power.  Crews have come from as far away as Tennessee to help.

We lost our cable and internet also and that was not restored until late Saturday evening.  So, I've been unable to visit you, but will be trying to catch up.

We are thankful for safety during this storm, and at the end of it, we're thankful for things like running water and electricity!

"He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth-- the LORD God Almighty is his name."

Amos 4:13