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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During the day on Wednesday, before the worst of the wind-powered severe weather, people out-and-about were trying to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

But even before severe storms moved in, some of the damage started. In the mid-afternoon, a giant tree crunched a single-story home in Overland Park at the corner of Lamar Avenue and West 72nd Terrace.

No one was home when it happened and no one was injured, according to authorities in Overland Park.

It demonstrated how powerful the winds were growing in strength throughout the day.

The creaking branches of the Shawnee Christmas Tree hide its tumbled star-topper, which had tumbled down in the strong winds.

In Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood, the metal moving sculptures outside the Leopold Gallery resemble helicopter blades with each strong gust.

But some things still required a push for movement – like the swing occupied by a one-year-old at Loose Park.

“It’s pretty windy. We went to Whole Foods earlier and I thought we were going to blow away,” Christy Montgomery, the toddler’s mother, said.

“So yeah, her being only 25 pounds I thought maybe if I’m not holding onto her pretty good she could blow away,” Montgomery said.

While that parent said she does not have any outdoor decor to worry about, a man named Mike Vaille is something of an authority.

“I’m going to fight it a little bit,” Vaille said while bringing down an American flag from its pole.

“The wind, it also puts a strain on the rope where the rope is rubbing up there against that pulley. That’s where most of the wear is on the rope,” Vaille said.

Vaille owns Flag Source Unlimited, an unassuming shop in Shawnee with big clients including schools and businesses.

“Yeah we’ve notified some of our major accounts like some of our banks – we recommend they take their flags completely down,” Vaille said.

“Flags are meant to be out in the wind but when you get that flag standing straight out like that and it keeps going, that frays them, rips them,” Vaille said.

“Do you often drive by flags that have seen better days?” FOX4’s Jacob Kittilstad asked.

“Yes. I alert somebody about it. They should replace it. Yeah. I do that,” Vaille said.

“When it starts ripping down the stripes, that’s not nice,” Vaille said.