By JACKIE TAYLOR | June 16, 2021

Friday, June 11 started off like a typical late spring day but once afternoon hit, it was no typical day. Blue Mound experienced what locals estimated to be 80 to 90 mph straight-line winds, four to six inches of rain in 20 minutes and the ensuing damage created from the quick moving storm.

Fritz and Penny Johanning were busy Monday morning raking what was left of a four-feet in diameter pecan tree that toppled next to their home taking two large maple trees with it.

Fritz said the storm blew in Friday at around 6 p.m. from the northwest. “I’ve never seen wind blow that hard,” he said. “The rain was like a hurricane – it was blowing straight across.”

Penny said, “The sirens went off, but we waited it out. We have a brick fireplace that protected us. It lasted 20 to 25 minutes.”

The couple looked at the stump of what was a very old pecan tree that toppled. Fritz said that Blue Mound resident Dusty Rhynerson volunteered to lift the stump back up and put it back in the hole, then cut the stump off at ground level.