Will keep you awake if you kid is out in it. Hadn't seen the GF in three days so it was simply an essential trip...for the kid that is.
The air was heavy with the scents of summer, soft and humid, redolent with grape and falling lilac, sweet with honeysuckle and the last of the apple blossoms. A few mosquitoes buzzed hopefully and the sky was alight from horizon to horizon. I kept opening the porch door to look out and test...storming yet or only threatening? Coming soon or giving us a pass this time?
It was hard to sit and quietly read with the grass outside flickering, white, black, white, black like some bizarre neon bar sign advertising trouble.
Only a few stray drops of rain pattered down, but the lightning never seemed to let up. In its own way it was beautiful, back lighting one cloud, spotlighting another, with colors never seen in the day time spectrum. It was easy to see why our cows don't worry about the fireworks at the fair or race track. They have them right over their heads during storm times like this.
Eventually I crutched my way upstairs, phone in one pocket, flashlight and book in the other, to try to get some sleep despite all the weather action.
Then the wind hit. Like a wall. The house shook. The bed shook. The lights went out. The lights went on. And off. And on. And off.
And on, so I crawled back down the stairs and we turned on the TV weather and called up the kid.
He was on his way home. The Doppler map was pulsing with red and orange and purple where the hail storms were.
The kid got home with tales of a barn belonging to folks we know with its whole front blasted out into the road by the wind and trees down everywhere. We were pretty darned happy to see him.
By the time we went back to bed it was mostly done with its destruction, although the power went out some more. We need some normal, calm, dry weather around here. It has rained at least a little and often a lot for many, many days now. And, naturally, it is going to storm again today with rain in the forecast for every single day of the coming forecast.
Same here in S IN, much too much rain and corn can't be planted and too many tornados in area. And these terrible bitting gnats!linda
ReplyDeletePower went/is out at the Aerie, too. Got a phone call from the alarm company at 4 AM Aerie time (3 AM Milwaukee--which is were I am--time). Checked with a neighbor this morning and there are hundreds of homes affected by the power outage caused by the strong winds. Hail happened just across the NY border, she says, but not around the Aerie.
ReplyDeleteYou and your's stay safe in the next round of weather.
What a beautiful, beautiful piece. Your ability to observe and report . . . well, I've said it before . . truly a delight.
ReplyDeleteWe moms are destined to keep an eye to the sky when loved ones are not in the nest and the weather is menacing.
Our boy (44 years old!) will be driving from NH this afternoon to spend the week in Ohio. Yes, you may well believe that the fact of him in a car on the turnpike in this crazy weather - is a bit of a concern.
Yes, I'll be at my computer watching those colored doppler pixels.
Glad to hear he's home safe. It was an interesting night, that's for sure. Great pics too!
ReplyDeletekeep your eye on the sky, its been a wierd spring. I got pelted with hail yesterday afternoon on my way home from Cades Cove and it did some damage to the old ranger, mostly dents..:-)
ReplyDeleteIt sure was a bad one and I am not looking for a repeat of it and I know it is headed this way again!
ReplyDeleteStay safe! Its been a weird weather year everywhere.....keep your eye out!
ReplyDeleteRain is an understatement. My hubby got the rain gauge set up last week (after several years in a box), and I thought for sure that would create a drought. Not. Last night's storms brought us 5 inches of rain and the power was out from 11 pm to about 6 am. My poor old puppy was a quivering mass of fur glued to my side.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are safe. I didn't know New York got tornados! This sure has been a hard spring for everyone.
ReplyDeleteLinda
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Linda, it just won't quit! We had another round of hard storms last night, although I don't think there were any tornado watches. Lots for floods and severe storms though
ReplyDeletejoated, that must be the pits when you aren't home! Last night we had another round, but without the bad winds. What a year so far!
Cathy, I hope he has an event'free and pleasant trip and that you all have a wonderful visit.
Jeff, thanks, stay safe out there...hope you (and we) see some dry pretty darned soon
Ed, yowsa! I hate hail, although I hate the wind more. We had a crop insurance adjuster here once whose whole car was totally dinged by hail.
Lisa, so sorry to see the damage you folks had. Wow, We had some strong wind, which was pretty scary, but only lost a couple trees up in back
Linda, thanks! I sat by the window and watched the sky during the lightning flashes. They say a tornado approaching sounds like a train...well heck, hundreds of trains a day go by here. How could I tell?
AKA, oh, so good to hear from you! I have been wondering how you were doing! Five inches! That is awful. Wonder what we got in last night's go round.
LIndaG, before the past couple of years I could count on one hand the ones near here. Now we are getting watches quite often and there have been a mess of them up around Herkimer. We sit right where the storms come trooping down the valley so....
I heard all the warnings, but the clouds all appeared to be traveling to the south of us so I went to bed and slept the sleep of the just.
ReplyDeleteWoke up Friday morning thinking, "Hm, must have passed us by."
Then I had to get a screwdriver to pry Husband's fingernails out of the ceiling so he could have his morning coffee.