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Nicole Halverson was sitting at her dining room table early Friday morning, Sept. 17, when she heard a noise around 12:30 a.m. that caused her to move away from the table.
“Thank God I did, because as soon as I was out of the way, that’s when the tree came down on my house — that was one of the loudest impacts,” she said.
“As things calmed down, that’s when I noticed a tree (limb) resting on top of my fridge and it knocked out the whole east side of my house.”
No one was injured, including a friend of Halverson’s, who was asleep in the basement.
Her house on East First Street (County Road 7) in Hardwick was destroyed.
“I heard the wind pick up and then I heard the most eerie noise I ever heard,” she said. “I hope I never have to hear or see it ever again.”
Halverson is staying with a family member as she works with her insurance company. The tree is being removed from her house piece by piece.
“The tree guy said that this is one of the worst ones he has ever done,” Halverson said.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for early Friday morning stating that 70 mph wind gusts were possible.
“Expect considerable tree damage,” the warning stated.
Many areas in Rock County experienced downed trees and property damage to a lesser extent than Halverson’s.