Car Problems and Iowa Weather

So something crazy happened to me last Saturday (4/14/12). I thought it was just going to be a regular day, I helped out my friend with scripts so I brought my MacBook to work and my iPad for some fun in between. I already heard before from the local weather that we’ll be having severe weather and a tornado watch. Anyway after we were done that day with some work we left the studio we were at and it was raining heavily!



 
Just moments after this video I decided the rain and hail let up a little so I thought it would be okay to drive home. Just a little ahead of me, I can make out a car and for whatever reason I thought it was stalled on the street. I continue my path on the road and finally realized what was wrong. I ended up driving into a major flood zone and before I can reverse my car it was too late my ‘check engine’ light came on and I was stalled. Rain was coming down faster and faster I was in the middle of a lake and panicking as water was seeping in through the bottom of my car door. I didn’t what to come of being in the car but I didn’t want to end up being those people in the news floating in the background.

I called my cousin who was also at the studio so I know she couldn’t have been that far away from my current location. I don’t remember exactly what I said on the phone but I think I did scare her and she was try to pull over some place to look out for me. I thought okay I need to get out of my car and get in my cousin’s car at least so I grabbed my bags with my things in it lift it up as high as I can and open the door. The water was coming so fast inside my car and water was to my waist I managed to close my car door and walked through the water and onto the side of the street. I took a quick look at my car and ran away on a mission to find my cousin.

As I was running around aimlessly through the rain, hail and the loud thunder I found a bus stop with a roof over it. In there I called my cousin again and I could hardly hear her through the ear piece, I think some water got into the phone because she sounded like she was very distant so with all of the noise from the rain. I may have been a little dramatic but I seriously felt like I was in a movie with the heavy rain, shouting in the phone and running for my life. My mother also called me during that time and I was trying to tell her the situation but after the going back and forth of all the “whats and wheres” I realized it’s not the appropriate time and hung up on her. After running a few blocks I did manage to find my cousin and I made it safely in her car. We drove around around for a while but then went back to my car.

The rain did let up now and so there was my car in the middle of the road with much less flooding around my car. There were police on site and asked me if that was my car, he asked if I wanted to try to start it to see if it’s able to go but as I thought it didn’t. They helped me move the car to a parking space to some State building as they are closed or the weekend so I would be able to work out my own towing later today or Sunday. I went ahead and left it there overnight until I can figure out what to do with my car.
I discussed all that has happened to me with my mom and she told me that her cousin works on cars and she can see what he can do with it and she’ll call him right now.

Next day he met me on site at my car to see if he would be able to do anything at all there. With all of his trying unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do anything then. He called his towing partner and came by to get it to towed to his house where he can have more time to work on it and see if he can get the car going again. At this time I was just thinking that my car is done that I’ll have to go through all of the insurance paperwork and go through the dreaded car shopping. Later that day he called my mom and told her that the car is in working order and we can pick it up. I seriously cannot believe it! My car is okay and he even was nice enough to vacuum all the water out of the inside as well. I’m so happy that this is the end result of my wretched weekend and that I would be able to drive my car to work the next day. Staying positive!