5/27/11

5/27/11

Two nights ago I witnessed the most spectacular thunder and light show of my life. The weather service issued a tornado warning for Phoenicia for late in the afternoon. Winds up to 60 mph, 1" hail, thunder, flash floods, and cloud-to-ground lightening. Sounds like what I thought the rapture would be like. I hear that if it did happen on May 21st as predicted, the apocalyptic epicenter was going to be somewhere in the Hudson Valley.) The warning was issued for 7-10 pm. A three hour window of prediction meant that was going to hit hard and fast. The weather had been unsettling, warm, humid, and that 'too calm' feeling; hot breezes would waft in. I've learned that severe weather follows. Just like the crazy gold color the sky turns right before a rainbow manifests from the clouds. (I always picture that color sky when I hear Bob Marley's 'Rainbow Country').
I went downtown to satisfy my craving for cheese fries w/ gravy and about an hour or so later while sitting on the patio, I heard a crack and rumble of thunder that stopped everyone in their tracks. I thought "I better get the hell outta here!" and ran for my car, which may not have been the best idea. (All I know is that tires are rubber and rubber is insulating. What would happen if a car was struck by lightening anyway?)
A sheet of a downpour hit, raindrops the size of of marbles, the lightening, and thunder waged a war of who-came-first. There was no counting Mississippi. The storm was right on top of us. It was like the 4th of July, the sky lit up with flashes so bright , strikes so powerful, there is no way they weren't touching ground. I began to see ghost flashes, trails of the last strikes while being bombarded by the next... and I was driving... very slowly. I made it home safely and went to bed feeling the thunder rumble through the ground. Like the man upstairs was clearing his throat, commanding the world's attention. I love storms like that. Sky shows are rare in the PNW even though it's known for rain, it's more like living in a constant fog.