A first-person account of Monday's storm in Vinton

I knew something had to be wrong when my son, Sage, crawled into bed with my husband and me at 4:30 a.m. Monday.

“The storm scared me,” he said.

I could hear the rain pounding on the window, but there was something eerie about the wind. I've heard the howl of straight-line winds before, but never like this.

My husband, Jeff, woke up suddenly and said, “We're going to the basement.”

Because the power was out, Jeff led us to the lower level by the dim light of his cell phone.

Our old couch is down there, so Sage and I cuddled as Jeff went in search of candles and a radio.

The wind continued to howl for what seemed to be another hour. In reality, it was about 12 minutes.

Once it stopped, or slowed down, Jeff went upstairs to survey the damage outside.

“It's not good,” he said.

I didn't grasp exactly how not good it was until I went outside and looked around in the still dark early morning.

Several of our neighbor's trees and large branches had fallen on their houses and garages. On the other side of our house, several more trees were uprooted.

Our house didn't escape injury. While the roof was still intact, many shingles had been ripped off. A branch tore down the eave spout and the siding was plastered with leaves.

We found some of the shingles and pieces of siding in the backyard.

I tried to take some pictures, but it was still pretty dark. It was windy and raining, making it dangerous to be under dangling tree limbs.

As the sun came up, the damage became more apparent. My street, like most in town, was blocked in by fallen trees.

I walked down the street where a tree had snapped and fallen on a house. The owners were on vacation. Good thing, as the tree landed right in one of the children's bedrooms.

As I marveled at an uprooted tree, the owner told me how she and her husband planted that tree 27 years ago shortly after they were married.

The stories and the streets were similar all throughout town. Fallen trees, power lines, debris and leaves everywhere.

I went back home realizing my computer and cell phone batteries would soon die. I needed to reach work and try to load some pictures onto the web site.

Within an hour, I lost power to both, and with them, connection to the outside world.

Eventually, I was able to plug my computer and cell phone into the KCRG-TV9 satellite truck.

It was time to get to work. I got my notebook and pen and went walking.

I talked to a 92-year-old woman whose garage was ripped off her house. She was just thankful nobody got hurt.

At the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, the roof of the historic Old Main building was ripped off. The remnants of copper, wood and tree branches were strewn across the lawn in front.

Americorps volunteers, who are housed in the dorms at the Braille school, were doing what they do best – helping in a time of need.

Across the street from the school's track, pieces of sheet metal from a nearby roof of a large business were wrapped around playground equipment at Kiwanis Park.

The scene was the same on every street throughout the day – neighbors helping neighbors, people trying to figure out their next step.

Officials say power may be out for days. Our neighbor let us connect into his generator.

As I write this at 9:30 p.m., we have enough power for a fan, TV and computer.

Yes, it's hot without air conditioning. Yes, it's going to be a sleepless night without the usual comforts electricity provides.

But, there is much to be thankful for on this warm, summer night. Our house is still standing.

And most importantly, we are safe, as are our neighbors.