that was intense

We've had rain off an on for a few hours. More on than off, and very heavy when on.

It picked up for a while, and the thunder and lightning were really intense. I turned the computer off, and I don't usually bother.

I went out on the front porch to watch the lightning. There was just enough breeze that I'd get wet standing on the back porch, so I went to the front. Most of the lightning was to the back of the house of course. I was enjoying the show when I heard a wwhooosh and almost immediately felt a gust of wind on my back. I was standing with my back to the house! I dashed in the house and shut the door. I ran to the family room and slammed the door shut, then ran to the kitchen to close that window. I watched the trees whipping in the wind for a minute before remembering that the bedroom window was open. I ran back to close it, and then got a towel to wipe water off the headboard.

At least it warmed up a little. The furnace was on in the house around 6:00. Around 7:00, the temp got above 70°. Very damp, though. I won't complain about that, though. Too many people in the state have their basements flooded, if not their whole neighborhoods.

Lake Delton

I assume by now, you've seen pictures or video of Lake Delton sweeping a few homes down a river that it had just made. If not, see this. "Home Swept Down River" has the most dramatic video.

Three homes were washed completely away, and two more homes broke in half and are partly gone. Possibly worse, they can't rebuild because the land is gone too. That's why the houses are gone - the ground was washed out from underneath them. see picture

Now here's the kicker.

These people weren't insured. I don't fully understand what the deal is, and I think that's because nobody fully understands it - at least nobody who's talking. Something about a dispute with FEMA back in 2001. The village withdrew from the free national flood insurance program. But Lake Delton Village Engineer John Langhans said the village didn't enroll with the program because FEMA's new maps in 2001 had "gross inaccuracies" when it came to the designated floodplain level. There were discussions with FEMA and the WI DNR in the last couple of years, and the village decided to reapply for the program just two weeks ago. Not soon enough.

Here's the story