Henry Rifle Forums

Our area decided the Official Fireworks would be held on Saturday, the 6th, you know, cause we change the dates of things to the weekends to make it easier. The people around us here in rural Oklahoma said, "No Problem, We'll Light It Up.".

Before it even got dark, it sounded like an invasion for about two hours... then our NOAA radio warning of severe weather went off. Severe Thunderstorms, Hail, Winds in excess of Eighty MPH... Yeah, whatever.

Then, power went. (Thank God for the Generac)
The Thunder Rolled. Sounded like Artillery, Close incoming, rattled the windows.
The rain fell so thick we couldn't see the trees across the road, and the winds were vicious. Awnings didn't stand a chance, trees lost large sections. The hail came and knocked all the pears out of the fruit trees. The lightening was close...

It was close, and we took some minor damage around the farm. But, we REALLY needed the rain. And the light show and thunder was a celebration.

Wow, quite the show from Mother Nature. Hope you didn’t suffer any additional damage from what you spoke of.

Reminds me of the first year my wife and I were dating. I thought I would be a big shot and take her up on a ridge above downtown Spokane where a big fireworks show was scheduled. Hmmmm I didn’t think about the distance we were from the fireworks and how tiny the show would be. Then Mother Nature came to my rescue with a spectacular thunder and lightning show right on the big crowd waiting for the fireworks. We were far enough away we didn’t get wet and had a fantastic view of the nature show. Storm passed and the fireworks went off as scheduled.

I know the rules, without pictures, it didn't happen.

This is the carport in front of my woodshop/workshop. The place where I do my woodworking, knifemaking, leatherwork. Behind the truck is a shadecloth in it's proper position. The high winds tore the grommets out of the cloth on this side, and just tore the grommet lined heavy strip off the left side of the shade cloth. The shade cloth keeps the truck cool and helps keep the dust and debris off the truck. The winds also took out the cloth awning over the AC unit that keeps IT cooler while doing it's job in the triple digit heat. Miss T already ordered replacement cloths for the carport and a new awning, should be in next week.


This is the first year the fruit trees have KEPT fruit since we have been here. The deer have eaten the fruit, bugs have eaten the buds off, or the brutal heat the last couple years have killed the chance for fruit. We had some nice fruit going but the hail and high winds pounded the trees for over an hour and it's all on the ground now. Deer will love it.


One of the big trees along the creek took a hit. It now has a leaning Dead Man. It will lean a while as I am not going to mess with it. NOT unless I rent a bucket lift to work from.


We have a HUGE tree with a hollow base in the pecan orchard. That one is still standing.

Way off topic but thanks for posting the picture of the shade cloth. I decided to store my boat during the boating season under the lean to on the side of my shop. My biggest concern is the morning sun on that side of the boat doing its damage. I thought about putting metal siding along that side but I’m going to look into the shade cloth. Cool.

It rained and the wind blew all day on the Fourth and then last evening it stopped for a few hours. Too bad they
had already cancelled the fireworks because there was a window that would have worked. Then after we went to
bed it started in again.
Officially we got two inches of rain yesterday and it's still raining the morning with more expected this afternoon.
I think it may be Ark building time.
We never left the house yesterday. (Haven't done that in a long long time). Last evening we sat out on the deck and
watched the neighbors light up the night in celebration of the Fourth. All the fireworks were of course Illegal here in
Minnesnowta, (Imported across the border in Wisconsin), but they were numerous and spectacular.
It occurs to me that Americans are still rebels at heart. The police could never keep up with the illegal displays even
if they wanted to, but it sure displays our celebration of independence.

We actually have quite a bit of deadfall down around the farm, but I drove around in the utv and didn't see any significant damage to structures or fences. We can collect the deadfall over time using the tractor, and clean the place back up. It's what you do.

Sorry to hear about the damage, but glad you and Miss Tina are safe. I know from experience how dangerous such storms can be. I grew up in the Dakotas and Nebraska.

Can you salvage any of those pears?

Wow that sounds like a butt kicking storm BM ! We went to my Son's home for a cookout which was a cookin due to the 98F temps and a line of storms that came thru later. They have peach trees and other fruits and put a large net over the trees. Now the peach tree is getting full of juicy peaches and keeps the squirrels and deer away.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 05, 2024 10:53 am

Sorry to hear about the damage, but glad you and Miss Tina are safe. I know from experience how dangerous such storms can be. I grew up in the Dakotas and Nebraska.

Can you salvage any of those pears?

Don't think they were ready yet, we'll let the deer, the coons, and the bunnies have them. Maybe next year.

In other news:



I checked out the tornado shelter this morning.
Even with the heavy rain, high winds, and it's circular and sideways blow - the shelter was bone dry.

That has to give you some peace of mind, just in case ...

Glad you two are ok and nothing major happened.
It's great that you have that shelter.

Good news that your shelter withstood the storm without a hiccup. That’s got to build confidence and appreciation for your prior work having it installed.