YELLOWSTONE COUNTY — Riley "RJ" Nieskens, 24, and her father, Mitchell Nieskens, spent Tuesday repairing damages that were created from Monday night's hail and wind storm.
While the father-daughter duo are separated by over 17 miles, they're experiencing the same challenges.
See the property damages the Nieskens family is facing in the video below:
RJ Nieskens lives in Billings near Lewis Avenue and Tenth Street West.
In her neighborhood are hundreds of large trees for her and her three-year-old daughter to enjoy.
While the trees make the area even more beautiful, when they are combined with 60-mile-per-hour winds, which Billings saw Monday night, danger can strike.
"There are a couple tree branches down, but it's not nothing too big, compared to Shepherd's (damage)," said RJ on Tuesday.
While RJ was preparing dinner for her daughter, she heard a loud noise during the windstorm. Thinking it was a branch that fell on her roof, RJ went outside to check.
"I heard a thud noise, and so I walked by the window and I seen a downed tree, and I walked outside, and it was on my car," she said.
Luckily, she said, repairs to the car shouldn't be too costly.
"So when we walked out, obviously it was on the hood of my car. We were able to remove the branch off of the car, and my hood was completely dented in," said RJ.
She said the car is still drivable, but she expects to get an insurance quote soon to ensure no long-term damage.
"Don't park under trees," she said while laughing.
Around 5 p.m., the same time RJ noticed the vehicle damage, her father, Mitchell Nieskens, noticed wind picking up at his Shepherd home.
"It started getting windy, and clouds were building. And I just happened to peek out the garage, and over there I seen a roof flying through the air, and then run for cover," Mitchell told MTN on Tuesday.
Mitchell said before the storm hit, he was fixing the engine on one of his go-karts.
After he went inside for safety, the hail began. Mitchell said the hail and wind combined left several tree branches across his yard. His roof was dented, and hundreds of tree branches prevented his pickup truck from leaving his driveway.
Mitchell said the fast winds, which were up to 75 miles per hour, even picked up his pet turkeys and threw them across his neighbor's yard.
"We've been through some crazy (storms), but definitely had my heart pounding on this one," he said.
But even though both Mitchell and RJ are dealing with property damage, they say the most important thing was no one in the family got hurt.
"We all made it out good," said Mitchell.
Related:
Shepherd residents face severe destruction after Monday storm
Shepherd family has home flipped upside down by Monday storm
