Storm Damage

Fierce storms kicked up yesterday afternoon, almost out of nowhere.

At work, I was sitting at my desk and happened to notice raindrops on my window. Seconds later, it became a torrential downpour and vicious winds began to slam it against the glass. Luckily, nothing at work or at home – where the storm blew through about 20 minutes later – was harmed.

The Renaissance Hotel didn’t fare as well. The 80-year-old tower, situated behind America’s Convention Center in downtown St. Louis, lost several stories of a decorative façade. I captured these shots on the way home last night.

Here’s the hotel in the background of the convention center. Note the lower right hand corner of the tower, just beyond the flat roof of the convention center.

Here’s the damage close-up. It ripped that faux covering down to the studs!
Luckily, no one was hurt and about 100 guests were moved to other hotels. All across the area – for about a 50-mile radius – high winds toppled trees, tore off roofs, and downed power lines. This morning, there were still 7,000 Ameren customers without power.

The funny part is that after the storm blew off, the sun came out and stayed for several hours. You’d never have imagined anything so powerful had occurred. It started raining again last night though and continues today. We’re not on tap for any more severe weather. That’s a relief. Summer storms here can sure wreak havoc.

The one thing the storm front did was to drop temperatures. It’s been in the 90s the past few days. Today, we won’t even get out of the 60s. Tonight, we’re going down to 50. Brrrrrr.