My old sailing buddy Steve used that term for a thunderstorm. Thunder and lightning - we had that big time overnight. The first rumbles of thunder in the distance didn't wake me - Rufus did. Since that hail storm last summer, whenever we have been in a storm, he wants to be comforted.
That was around 2:00. By 2:15, it was as active of a storm as I have seen. Joan was already sitting up on the couch when I got up. She and I went out in the worst of it to roll up the sun screens on our deck... the rain was pounding, the wind was howling, and lightning was non-stop. We were both soaked when we came back in the house. After drying off with a towel, we sat up, checking weather... thunderstorm warning (duh) and flash flood warnings for the next county over. Radar was showing it wasn't going to let up for at least two more hours. Something I haven't experienced in quite a while: I was cold after coming in out of the rain.
I said, "I'm surprised we haven't lost power."
Joan said, "You should not have said that."
Surprisingly, the power stayed on. We didn't go back to bed until just after 4:30, when things finally calmed down. Rufus remained unsettled.
Just after 7:00, I got another nudge. Rufus wasn't scared, he was ready for breakfast. He usually patiently waits for me to get up... and I'm always up before 7:00. Joan was already up. I started my morning routine, and before I got to sit down, the next round of rumbles fired up. And rain. Checking weather, it looks like we'll be in it again 'till at least 11:00.
I'm gonna need a nap.
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76º at 1:00 pm; the wind has clocked from NNE to SSE @ 20+mph and gusty. The rain has moved off shore. Looks like we had more than 4" of rain overnight. On the bright side: it did a good job of rinsing off the siding on the house. The cargo trailer was dry as a bone inside. Further up the Valley, there are reports of hail... didn't happen here. Reports of flooding now in our county and a request from our water district to reduce water usage as much as possible due to overflowing storm drains. Not an issue on our island, as the water can run off into the canals.
Looks like an inside kinda day.
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I am horrified - another mass shooting in an elementary school, this one in Texas, 80 miles from San Antonio. An 18 year old shooter; murdered 14 students and a teacher, others seriously wounded. I don't have an answer for this... there will be hand wringing and calls for "something needs to be done." I don't know what that will be. Truly gut-wrenching when a crazy person does this to innocent young people in the place where they should be able to feel safe. Beyond evil.
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