Windy, wet and stormy

The big storm system currently plaguing the Southern states has been parked over our home since the small hours of this morning.  All day, the wind's been blowing out of the north, with gusts reaching 30+ mph.  It rained pretty much non-stop all morning, although that's died down to occasional showers this afternoon.

Our back yard fence has taken a beating.  It's metal, with no gaps for the wind to filter through, so it's been hit harder than the wood fences our neighbors use.  We're going to have to repair or replace the double rear gates, and probably at least one fence panel.  The roof of our garden shed has also been torn loose in parts, and the wind rushing around inside it has pulled the door hinges clear out of the wood frame.  It's hanging on at an angle, secured only by its padlock.  I guess we'll be calling our insurers tomorrow or Monday, and lodging a claim.

If any of you are, or will be, affected by this storm, please be careful.  It's got a lot of energy left, and it's moving fairly slowly, so it'll be with us for a while.  In particular, please be careful on the roads.  There's a lot of debris flying around in the wind, including tree branches, garbage cans, garden furniture and the like.  (A lot of it passed through our back yard, too!  I had to pick up some of it earlier.)

Stay safe, y'all.

Peter

EDITED TO ADD:  In the small hours of Sunday morning, I note from the weather map that the bottom of this storm rests on the Gulf coast of Mississippi, the top over Chicago and Lake Michigan, the western extremity just east of Oklahoma City, and the eastern edge approaching Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.  That's a heck of a big storm - tens of thousands of square miles, if it's an inch.