My Roof Flew Away! Mysterious Storm Hits Homes in Byron, Illinois

I've never lived through any significant weather events in my life.

I've never been through a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake, and I'm glad about that because I'm so uninterested.

It's not like there's much choice because those things tend to happen, and you're not given much choice.

I lived in Kansas, right off Tornado Alley, and never experienced anything close.

MINI TORNADOES IN ILLINOIS

Last night changed things a bit. Because I'm pretty sure I lived through a very mini tornado.

I Googled that this morning. I wanted to see if there is such a thing as a "mini tornado," and to my chagrin, that is not a thing.

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Having heard of "microbursts" being thrown around a time or two when describing weather events, I checked to see if that happened in my neighborhood.

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While the National Weather Service or any other local meteorologist has not mentioned what happened last night, I think I lived through a microburst.

MICROBURSTS EXPLAINED

Accuweather says microbursts are small columns of intense and localized sinking air that "results in a violent rush of air at the ground...capable of producing damaging straight-line winds of more than 100 mph that are similar to that in some tornadoes, but without the tornado's rotation."

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MICROBURST IN BYRON ILLINOIS

Here's what happened: Around 8:45, a massive gust of wind blasted a roof shingle through the front window of my house. It was moving quickly because glass shattered everywhere.

After cleaning up and card-boarding the window, the weather finally died. I had a chance to see the outside of the house and noticed even more damage. Something massive flew into the roof of my place, wrecking gutters and siding and breaking another window.

Damaging Winds Wreak Havoc in Byron, Illinois Neighborhood

This was just my place; neighbors lost front porch columns, trampolines, tree houses, and whole pools, not to mention the guy whose roofing shingles were littered all over the street.

Insurance carriers will be busy today in the Byron area. I'm glad everyone is OK, but I'm still wondering what happened in my neighborhood last night.

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Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF