I'm stuck in Knoxville tonight because of all the tornados and heavy rain. I'm beat. Left NY at 8 AM and finally got in a hotel at 11:30. I was supposed to be in Robbinsville kicking one back by now.

Started seeing rain on the road from Cincinnati on. It got so bad in Kentucky that I had to stop at a rest stop for about 15 minutes. Once I got into TN it was even worse. I passed by the Knoxville airport at around 9 PM. Just as I did, the rain got so bad that I couldn't see anything. There was lightning all around me. Then ping pong sized hail started pounding my Mini. Without even thinking, I turned around and headed for one of the gas stations I had just passed. While I was there I inspected my car for any damage but couldn't see any. I was surprised to see 15 other people who had taken refuge there. A woman who had pulled in after me in a Mazda 6 didn't fair as well. Her car was dinged up from front to back. I waited around 30 minutes and took off again because the rain had died down...what I mistake!

So I get to 129 where it separates from 411 at around 10 PM. Just a couple miles in I end up following another Mini. I figured we'd stick together for the ride into either Robbinsville or Fontana. I noticed shortly after, though, that the lightning had begun to pick up. At first it was quite fascinating to see. But after a few minutes I started to realize that the frequency was picking up quite a bit and that we were headed straight for it. I began to get nervous...and for good reason. 5 minutes later it began to rain heavily. I had seen this weather behavior just an hour earlier. Soon after the hail started, then the wind. The 2 of us were behind an SUV and another car. This was ludicrous! Suddenly leaves were flying everywhere and a good size tree branch landed on my car. At that point I made the decision not to go any further but to turn around and head back to yet another gas station we had just passed. The person in the other Mini kept on going.

As I'm heading back, the rain got so intense that I couldn't see anything. I was terrified. Thankfully, I got back to the gas station and waited the storm out with some other folks.

When the wind and rain died down I ventured back down 129 toward Fontana. However, I didn't get very far. About 1/2 mile down was a large tree laying in the middle of the road completely blocking it. The roadway was covered in leaves and branches. I barely made it back to 129/411. As I got to the intersection, I couldn't recognize it, plus the power was out in the area so there were no lights nor traffic signal. I crossed over 129/411 without stopping. I can't believe I wasn't hit.

Anyway, I don't know what happened to the person in the other Mini. I can't imagine they were able to make it all the way. I hope they're ok. Maybe I'll be able to make it there tomorrow morning.

 

that sounds like some serious sh*t - i'm very glad you have no horror stories to tell. i join you in wishing the other traveler safe passage.

sometimes discretion is the better part of valor huh...

 

Wow, I was afraid of that for you people traveling in that area. I was thinking it might be a good idea to take my car cover with me because if it starts hailing, I’m not a big enough person to cover my car with my body...lol.

Glad you found refuge and didn’t have anything bad happen (physically)

Did the tree that landed on the hood cause any damage?

Mark

 

yea the weather was bad here in TN yesterday..but that's pretty normal for this time of year.
It's clear skies and sunny today though!

 

I've lived in Knoxville for over 20 years and have never seen hail like that. It was raining golf ***** for over 5 minutes. My house is beat to death, but most importantly the family (and my MINI) is ok. The only funny moment about all this was when I was talking to the State Farm agent last night on the 24 hour claim hotline and he asked if any cars had been damaged as well or was it just the house. I told him, "No thank goodness." He laughed and told me he asked because he is very familiar with the passion MINI owners have for there cars. He said the MINI owners he knows would have reported the damage to the car before the house. I advised him that he would have been correct in my case as well.

See you all up there on Friday. We have our monthly MINI Club meeting tonight at MINI of Knoxville (6:30 pm), and then I'm heading up for the Dragon Parade on Friday.

 

After talking with Grey Poupon at Fontana yesterday, were put the events together and my husband and I were in the Mini that was in front of him. We got caught in an earlier storm and our Mini didn't fair as well =( The insurance company said the car will likely be totaled. For now it has been re-named the Golf Ball car, lol.

After Grey turned back, we kept going and eventually made it back home to Robbinsville. There was one tree that blocked the road, to the point that we couldn't drive around it. Lucky for us, our friends parents lived within walking distance, and pulled the tree out of the road for us. This was just before you get to the Harley Davidson store on Hwy 129.

After that the road was pretty clear..until we passed the Foothills Parkway. There were more than a dozen trees in the road, but we were able to drive off the road and get around them.

Oh..and we have video of the everything...the hail damage to our car as it was happening and the wild storm we drove through with Grey, and the downed trees. It'll probably take us a week or so to get the video edited together and online.

Darryl (my husband) will more than likely put a link to the video on our weekly highlights page (killboy.com), when the video is ready. It was a crazy day for sure!

 

Agreed. The MINI and Subaru were parked in the garage, but our van looks like the surface of the moon now. Just down the road from us (we live in the Cedar Bluff/Bridgewater area) our niece and nephew's (they live in Louisville, TN) CRV got extremely banged up. So badly that it just got totaled by the insurance company.

 

Not to stray off the original subject but wanted to mention I had the chance to meet Grey Poupon (Dijon)

Very classy guy with a cool R53. Thanks Dijon, it was definitely my pleasure to have met you this weekend.

Mark

 

All I have to say is "HUDSON Rocks" .....nuff said

 

Whatever dude! New Yawk's the bomb!

 

Thanks Mark! It was great to meet you and your JCW seats. Tell them I'll miss them.

 

Lori, Glad you made it there safely. Sorry to see your car, though. Hope things work out.

 

This breaking news just in......Rochester is not part of New York.......we now return to our previous MOTD friendly banter

 

I’m thinking you were just using me to get to my seats... very disappointing, I thought you really liked me.




Mark

 

Hail storm on Alcoa Hwy in Maryville, TN ( http://vimeo.com/23218366 ). Video of the Mini getting the poo beat out of it. The video was shot going across the Pellissippi (sp?) overpass on Alcoa Hwy, heading south. The lights far off in the distance, to the left, is the big Chevrolet Dealership.

Here is a video on Hwy 129, going toward Deals Gap, from Foothills Parkway on 4/27. ( http://vimeo.com/23119780)

Hopefully the video links work.

 

There's only one place in the States that can legitimately be called Hudson. Guess where it's at...NY!

 

I do...as long as your seats are with you.