Downed Pear Tree

When we returned home from dinner at around 8pm on August 29, 2003, it was to the sight of half of the front yard's ornamental pear tree fallen across the yard and into the street. We had just driven through a nasty, if brief, thunderstorm, but we're not sure if the damage was from the wind or a lightning strike.

Looks like a normal tree with some bushes behind it, right?
Street view, half a tree, with split, and house in background.
Street view, half a tree.
Side view, half a tree.
The Split.
Close-up of the split.
Another split close-up.
Collateral damage from the split.
Fallen tree, just above the split.
Fallen tree, just above the new split, a little closer.

Hurricane Isabel swept through starting the evening of Thursday, September 18, 2003. Around 3am on Friday, the half-a-tree was still there, though blowing wildly. However, sometime between then and 5am, the wind proved too much, and most of the rest of the tree snapped off - leaving a single limb.

On the advice of our tree-pruner, we excised the last branch .... and only a stump is left.