Blaine, Coon Rapids Residents Hit Hard By Sunday Storm
BLAINE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Jason Stolis looked on with amazement and relief as he analyzed his hail riddled home.
"Every window and all of the siding (is damaged). Broke a couple pieces of our patio furniture," he said. "We were actually standing out on our deck before it got real bad."
Once he saw the enormous shelf cloud in the distance combined with the rain, he said his family hurried inside.
"We went to the other side of the house in the bathroom where there were no windows and you could hear the glass shattering around us," he said. "Seems like you walk around the neighborhood and anyone from the west just pounded."
His description was accurate. Nearly every home in his neighborhood had damage on the west side, with the hail putting enough holes into vinyl siding so they looked like Swiss cheese. Windows were shattered. Cars also had dozens of miniature dents.
Many towns on the northern half of the Twin Cities metro found themselves pounded with heavy rains and enough hail to make it look like it snowed in June. The Coon Rapids Public Works Department sent trucks out to plow the hail covered streets.
On top of all that, high winds roared through with enough strength to snap and uproot trees.
"It's totally gone from underneath part of the driveway," said Kristi Nordland as she describes how an uprooted tree in her yard ripped out portions of the driveway and lawn.
"But we were lucky (the tree) seriously did not take out any of the neighbor's vehicle that was parked in their driveway. I mean it could have been a lot worse," she said.
Those same words were heard on Stolis' block where neighbors walked around soaking in the endless amount of damage. Others were already getting to work on tedious task of getting everything fixed.
"Other than that nobody got hurt, that's all that matters," said Stolis.
Home remodeling companies were already canvassing the neighborhood. Kyle Miller works with All Around, an exterior remodeling contractor. He said a friend called him over to analyze the damage. Miller said after making sure everyone is safe, the next step is preventing any water from leaking into the house.
"You want to make sure you get your windows boarded up, get something that is moisture resistant, at least plywood for sure," he said.
As for picking the right contractor to fix the home, Miller said people shouldn't rush into signing contracts with the first company that comes knocking on their door.
"I don't think being impulsive is ever a good idea, especially in these situations," he said. "The restoration process can take several months. You want to make sure that you're working with somebody that knows what they're doing, that can handle the insurance claim process working with the insurance company."
Miller said there are several reasons why the restoration process can takes months. First, he said there will be a sudden high volume of claims for insurance companies to process, which could lead to delays on how quickly the insurance companies can assess the damage.
He said it also takes time for remodeling contractors to carefully select the right roofing, window, siding and other trade companies to fix the damage.