Well, here we are again...

Another couple days of rain.  We had some overnight, but it was light.  Today, we were supposed to meet Herb and Wilma for lunch over on South Padre Island.  Mother Nature had other plans... we were planning to leave at 12:15 for our 12:30 lunch date.  Right around noon, an ugly cell rolled in: heavy rain, LOTS of lightning, strong wind.  Joan got out our rain jackets and I was just putting on some shoes I don't mind getting wet, when the phone rang...

"Hi Herb."

"Hi Jim.  Have you left yet?"

"Nope; just gearing up."

"Don't leave.  We'll do it another time - it is really ugly out there."

"Yep.  We'll stay in and cook."

Good to hear from our friends, but this is a quick trip here for them, so we will have to connect later.

By the time I hung up the phone (do you still say that, where there is no place to actually "hang" it?), the alerts were coming on TV for "Flash Flood Warnings in southeast Cameron County."  Yeah, that's us.  Then the announcement that the Brownsville Weather Radar was knocked off-line by lightning.  So... the radar to spot the severe weather was knocked out by severe weather?  Interesting turn.

We had to gear up to roll up the sunscreens on the deck - they were fine 'till the wind kicked up.

Izzy looked out the patio door... "You people are crazy for going out there."  Pretty sure she wouldn't say that if I told her I was going out in that nasty weather to go to the store for cat food.

The thunder and lightning are right overhead - rolling thunder that is going on for a very long time.

I added the red X to show where we are.  All those white "ziggy things" depict lightning.

Another alert on the TV: "A foot of water over the road to the Brownsville Airport.  A tornado reported in Willacy County (the next county north of us).  A 10' deep drainage ditch near a middle school in Brownsville is overflowing."

Nasty.

Our friend, Randy, from Weslaco (they also have a place across the street from us), just called: "Looks like you are getting it this time - you two OK?  I heard you had 3 to 4 inches of rain in the last hour, and more coming."

"Yep.  It has let up to just a hard rain, now."

 1:16, and here comes the next round: more lightning and thunder - close and loud!    The rumble shakes your innards.  Counting the seconds between the flash and the thunder clap - real close!

Joan is cooking, and we just lost power.  For a few seconds.  She had just put a cake in the oven... "How long do you think was on the timer?"

"No idea, but it sure smells good!"

Hail now reported having moved through Matamoros and Brownsville, heading towards us.  The rain has picked up again - just a wall of water out there.  Power just went out again... and didn't come back on a few seconds later.

Joan served up some chicken enchiladas just before the power went out.  We aren't going to starve.  With the power out, the cake may not make it, though... I think we can eat it while gooey, and just call it "chocolate sopresa"!  ;-)

Quiet now... the thunder is a distant rumble... the power is still out.  Little Izzy slept through most of it.