severe weather alert for oscoda, mi

Special Weather Statement - SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR IOSCO COUNTY VALID FROM FRI JUL 04 2003 12:40 PM EDT UNTIL SAT JUL 05 2003 02:00 AM EDT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 1242 PM EDT FRI JUL 4 2003 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA HAS INDICATED THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTHERN MICHIGAN AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST INTO THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS EXCEEDING 60 MPH AND ISOLATED HAIL EXCEEDING ONE INCH IN DIAMETER...ALONG WITH DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

Guess who was in Oscoda when it hit, and it was BAD.
We were in Hungry Howie's when it started raining, and then it started lightening and thundering, and then the wind started blowing, and then the power went out, and then it started hailing, and then the emergency vehicles started whizzing by. Luckily the Hungry Howies was a very substantial building. After the storm subsided we left, and you really couldn't tell how bad it was from inside the pizzeria, but when we got out we saw that the streets were flooded, a number of trees were either uprooted our had large branches broken off and the big sign in front of the Family Dollar had been demolished, it was freaky deeky. I live about 20 miles south of Oscoda and all we got was rain, no storm damage whatsoever. The
Amazing Boz was able to stare death in the eye once again, and live to laugh about it.