It was a respectable storm. Nothing terrifying, but not a piddle. Kind of refreshing, like a glass of ice-water on a summer's day.
The last time John and I were in Illinois we got caught in a prairie rumbler the likes of which frightens even the locals. We were driving from DeKalb to Chicago, or at least we were trying to. The storm was so feral we had to pull over and wait for it to pass, and hope it didn't notice us. You can't see to drive in a storm like that, no matter how frantically your windshield wipers wham. Because the water does not fall in drops, it does not fall in sheets or blankets or even torrents but in thick gobs, poured from the sky's pitchers by wild giants who don't care what they hit. It's ice-water, though not so refreshing when it's beating on you like that.
But it's beautiful to see as it rolls over the plains, dark and cruel as only an unconscious thing can be. As long as your defroster is working and you get a good viewing spot under the overpass, there's no show like it.
20 comments:
Love it all …
Threw my back out during one of our recent storms. I was asleep on the couch and the thunder sounded so loud I thought it was in the house. I jumped up and twisted funny.
I love watching storms from a comfortable spot in a warm house.
That's not California, that's the view out of my window in sunny England … day after dreary day. It's almost May and it snowed on me this week. Bleah.
So, do u miss El Nino? I remember that time because a neighbor was moving in that torrential rain... unbelievable....Yesterday was nice, I expected the worst AND my backyard did not flood like it would have if I didn't get new drains put in...
Maybe we love storms here because we don't have them every day. Dive, you need a tropical vacation. (J and I need a trip to England).
Book Dragon, you and I obviously agree about storms. They are best observed from a warm, safe place, with something hot to drink.
I think El Nino was at its worst during my early years in Los Angeles, Kalei. I was living in North Hollywood, and I remember hearing about floods in Altadena. It seemed so far away.
@Petrea: Not fun at all.. The land behind us was being developed and we had a river of mud coming down the street... Downright scary, so glad we haven't had it happen again.
Those clouds conceal the thudding hooves of the primordial Wild Hunt. The bird's a psychopomp—a fleck of mortality driven before the storm.
What John said.
Kalei, I remember seeing those mud-rivers on the news.
J, Karin, you are correct. I was there, but I didn't follow the bird.
I don't recommend it. That's a mythic horizon to avoid.
What a dramatic photo! I guess the lightning/thunder storm that we had on Thursday headed South. Definitely not typical for CA, but maybe we need to redefine typical. Nothing like an awesome mid-western storm though to understand the power of mother nature.
Katie, I wish I could remember where I read that we've been in drought so long in California that we've forgotten rain is typical here, at least more than we're used to. At least that's what I'm hoping..
That's pretty much what our skies have looked like up here too...only with delicate white stuff floating to the ground...
Around here, if there's not a twister involved, we can handle it. I love the heavy grey clouds and the dark brown of the bare trees. This is a real keeper P.
V
Chieftess, I said it was cold but I take it back.
Thanks, Virginia. I like this one, too.
I like your words, "feral storm". I recall many of those in the Midwest, with pouring sheets of rain and large hail. We have storms in ID, but they are nothing like the ones in the Midwest.
I love watching storms from my porch especially the thunder storms that sweep across the bay. Florida is known for its lightning strikes and when they hit the water it's amazing. The rain here never falls softly but explodes from the rain clouds in great drenching sheets. The storms pass quickly though, so you have to be ready with a cup of tea and a place on the porch swing to enjoy them.
The Midwest has some powerful ones, Ms. M. Sounds like Florida could rival, though, doesn't it? Bayside, that sounds like the life.
With all my urge for sun and warm of the spring, I have to say that the photo is soo beautiful, and dramatic.
I'm glad you like it, Irina. I know you're ready for some sun!
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