Thanks to the time of day the storms did not power up until they were about sixty miles east of St Louis. We had about the same 60 mph winds. Some old brick buildings collapsed and a few roofs were damaged in the metro area but Illinois got it considerably worse.

Driving around today the only damage I have seen personally are to the Cleveland/Bradfords.

I'm so glad to know that you and your family are safe. I was so surprised that my Forsythias didn't lose any of their leaves in the gusty winds. They still have half of their leaves. I guess leaves have a strong hold on the branches, even in dormancy, until they are ready to let go.

After a few years of record, freakish storms, the Atlantic coast has been oddly quiet this year with no hurricane risks, or ever any nor'easters. But this has led to several inches of rain deficit and slowly building drought in the East. Last night the front came in with some rain but no big wind (these things can be very localized). A few weeks ago though, there were tornados in the area. Hurricanes are monstrous enough, but it have a real fear of tornados!

I played hokey today. It is currently, crystal clear blue skies and in the mid 60's--gorgeous.

Yeah, My greenhouse blew apart. My porch where I had some seedling palm trees got messed up. We got some good rain, which I was glad to get, though. I wasn't cold air though. We never lost utilities, so it was okay.