Storms in Wichita Falls, lost our tree

16 years ago

We spent all yesterday cleaning up our yard and helping others. We lost our Chinese Pistache in the storm. It was our only tree in the backyard.

We also lost several huge branches off of our Sycamore tree in the front. We were fortunate to only lose a few shingles off the roof, DH was able to repair it by himself.

The straight line winds were reported to be 95 miles per hour! It was very scary! Here is a picture of my neighbors roof. She also had 2 big tree branches on the other side of her roof.

Was anyone else affected by the storm?

Necia

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Comments (9)

bo_berrin
16 years ago
Necia, I'm so sorry! Thank God it wasn't worse. Yes, in the last two bad storms here, we've lost half of a big mesquite, half of what I believe is a Chinese pistache, and the top half of one of our peach trees. The mesquite and the pistache both had two main trunks, each losing one of them. We still have the other half of each tree, but now they look lop-sided. Still, it could've been worse.

DH is taking me to Oklahoma this weekend for our first anniversary. That's the state where my Dad, when he was a boy, came up from the storm cellar to see *an empty field* where his house and barn had been 30 minutes earlier! Possible storms are in the forecast for the area, and I'm afraid. Y'all pray for us, okay?
denisew
16 years ago
I just hope it doesn't rain this afternoon or evening. I'm headed out to help with a cub scout twilight camp north of McKinney and with that many boys, we just don't need bad weather today or tomorrow. So, please let it rain early morning and be over with for the day. We're going to be walking through some mud today - it was muddy on Monday too with the rain we had over the weekend, but we all came clean in the shower when we got home.

Necia - I am sorry about you losing your tree. I suppose it could have been a whole lot worse, huh? It doesn't appear to be a really large tree - maybe 7-8 years old? At least it was one that you didn't invest many more years in caring for - like a 15 or 20 or older tree. Just trying to look at the brighter side of things here.
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Until 1993 I had no idea the magnitude of damage a blizzard, severe wind storm, 2 feet of snow could do. I found out that year in March just what folks in other parts of the country have to contend with. I can't imagine having to deal with one storm after another. One does get a chance to see what really nice people live in their communities along with the bad ones. I feel for anyone who has to be without power, it really lets you know up front that life without electricity just isn't much fun. Neil and I usually get along well with each other but during the blizzard of 93, we got into a shouting match and very nearly came to blows. I'm glad you and your's are okay, i'm sorry that your beautiful old trees have been ruined. Maybe you'll get lucky and other storms will pass you by. I certainly hope so. We bought a generator. I don't handle being without power very well. My ancestors would be ashamed of me.
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My previous house had wetlands behind it, which were beautiful and full of life (I miss them). Someone planted a row of Silver maples and Red maples along the edge of the wetlands, probably for wind break. They were at least 50 years old and large. Anyway, one evening a storm blew through and an incredible wind came through the yard. It was either a mini-twister or a down draft or something, the wind was easily hurricane force. After it passed, I went out to check if anything had blown around. I looked into the back yard and saw the sillouhette of a very large "shrub" that had appeared in the yard. At first I thought it was a large branch, but then I looked up at the silhouette of the maples - and oddly, there was a gap in the canopy where the largest tree used to be. It dawned on me that the tree had blown over. Did it ever! This tree was HUGE. 50-odd year old Silver maple, with 5 large trunks. The biggest tree on the property! Completely blown over, the canopy fell about 10 feet short of the deck and smashed a small fruit orchard to smithereens. There was a 20 foot rootball sticking up out of the swamp. My boyfriend at the time cut up the canopy. I had a tree guy chip the brush and cut the trunks, and watched the rootball flop back over into the swamp. I was so bummed to lose this tree and that my lovely fruit trees were ruined. There were a couple beautiful Yellow delicious apple trees and they were full of fruit that year. With all the apples strewn about, it was like trying to walk on marbles to cut up the brush. The upside was, that the gap in the treeline opened up a gorgeous vista of the wetlands. I've got plenty of pictures, but they are all on print, no digital.
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Ken, as I drove home after the storm and saw massive damage I was reminded repeatedly of many of your posts...almost went back to take pics just for you to see. But I'm in a "lack of knowledge" time with a new computer and new camera so no photo posts for awhile. The tree missed the side wall of an above ground pool so the house wall was safe. My wording was misleading. We might have figured pool damage to be a blessing, too, as it is very old and the kids have moved out of state, and we aren't around as much in the summer so we have debated what to do with it. The only tree of size near the house is the last of a row of medium sized spruce. Took out the others year by year and brought them to Christmas tree recyling in many pieces. Yes, they had been Christmas trees with outdoor lighting, but they never would have fit inside when we cut them! We plan to take the last one out this Christmas...partly in response to things you have written. I'm half tempted to cut that last one now while I have an easy disposal site but a million and one other garden jobs are calling. It is located where the prevailing storm winds would blow it away from the house so we, perhaps foolishly, feel we can continue our multi-year removal plan. And it is on a side away from high use rooms like bedrooms. Probably not a good idea to gamble with changing winds for much longer. A kayak buddy told a story of terror about falling trees that also convinced me to remove trees. He and his wife went to bed early on a stormy night and a few minutes later a huge tree smashed through the roof and the trunk crushed the sofa where they would have normally watched the news. Wasn't even their tree and eventually, after much negotiating, they received an insurance settlement from the guilty party and used the $$ to move to a tree-safe place. Fortunately, we don't have neighbors' trees to worry about. So yes, everyone....LISTEN TO KEN....HE IS A WISE MAN....LOL
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Garden Perennials at Wayne is a great nursery. I didn't make it up there this season but might make it this fall with a couple gardening friends. All her stuff is grown outside(no greenhouses) and thus transplants easily and is already acclimated to our weather and zone.She doesn't have a huge selection of hostas but I can still find lots I don't have. Another great one is Bluebird Nursery at Clarkson Nebraska. They are mostly wholesale but have a great retail shop, too.They have limited hours now that the spring rush is over but you can look them up on the Web for times and info. I see they have trees on sale now(30% off) until the end of August. I just might have to check them out first as they are less than 20 miles from me. The owner Harlan Hammernick is a world traveler and has lots of unusual plants as well as our favorites.Our extension service has had him speak and show slides numerous times and he's a crowd getter. West Point also has a couple smaller nurseries I like to shop at. I haven't been to the farmers mkt. in downtown Omaha for a couple yrs. but I always wanted to check out a nursery that brought hostas and shade perennials there.It was advertised as 30 minutes from downtown and I can't remember for the life of me the name of it. Any clue? Dee
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averagejoetx
16 years ago
Since we've moved in in March, we've lost three Chinaberries to the weather. Which pretty much just saves me the trouble of having to remove them myself. This storm wasn't so bad by the time it got to us.
sandradee
16 years ago
Hi Necia,

So sorry about the tree - it looked like a really nice one, too. The winds really were scary. It reminded me TOO much of going through Hurricane Hugo in Charleston, SC back in 1989.

We lucked out and only lost a major branch/trunk on our wax myrtle. It split pretty far down, so we may lose the major part of this shrub. Luckily, we have lots of suckers starting on the ground near the base, so it may just rejuvenate itself.

I've seen a lot of Bradford pear damage around town (ours is a bit sheltered and is OK) so now I know why people are less than complimentary about that tree.

I was really worried about my new-this-spring Fire Dragon Shantung maple, which is only partially staked, but it came through just fine.

Let's hope we don't have any repeats of those winds...

Sandy
necia
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, everyone! I would probably be more upset if I had planted the tree, but it was already here when we moved in. DH said that he tried to count the rings and thought that it was about 12 years old.

The worst part of the storm for us was having our electricity off for 15 hours!

Sandy, Glad to hear that you didn't have too much damage! What part of town are you in? We are in the Southwest part of town, but heard that the electricity was out in most places! I am thinking about replacing the chinese pistache with either a Shantung maple or a bald cypress.

Necia
pjtexgirl
16 years ago
OMG! I don't have any mature trees in my back either. (Or the front *sigh*) I'm glad you didn't get more damage than you did. PJ
carrie751
16 years ago
Necia, a word of warning about a bald cypress - they will put up "knees" even when they are not by water. I have a large portion of my yard that had to be dedicated to them. Even though they are very unique, they are difficult to mow over.
sandradee
16 years ago
Necia,

We're on the west side of town, off of Seymour Highway. Lucky for us, only momentary power outages. We really do consider ourselves fortunate.

Sandy
sally2_gw
16 years ago
Actually, the bald cypress will put up knees when they are in wet soil, or anytime they darn well feel like it. ;-) I wouldn't recommend one for Wichita Falls, though. They're really happier further east.

What a shame about your tree, Necia, and your neighbor's roof. How terrifying that wind must have been. I lived in Wichita Falls back in the late 70's, and was there for the big tornado that hit and killed 45 people. we were not in that part of town, but I bet there were more than a few people thinking back to that day during the recent wind storm.

Sally

Storms in Wichita Falls, lost our tree

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