297/365 - Candlelit Breakfast

Big surprise this morning - storms (well, that's really not too surprising), high wind (again, not surprising), and lots of rain.

Then, just after the storm passed through, the power went out. That was the surprise.

And as we were scrambling to light candles (yup, no flashlights, no surprise there), I noticed our neighbors in the cul-de-sac still had power! No fair!

Oh, well, at least we got to enjoy breakfast by candlelight.



And the power was restored 3 hours later.

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Day 162 - Storm and the Aftermath

We're thinking that the neighborhood picnic is jinxed - another oppressively hot and humid day, leading up to thunderstorms right at 4:00. I was driving to pick up Erica from the stables when I watched the black mass of clouds roll across the prairie.



The rain only lasted about 30 minutes so we were able to have the picnic in Lisa and Jeff's garage. It was even clear enough to run the Bounce House and Mega Slide inflatables.

After a couple of hours, another small line of storms rolled through, and left a wake of misty clouds in time for a very yellow sunset, with a bonus:



A huge rainbow that spanned the sky. My lens isn't wide enough to capture the entire arc, but it was magnificent.

Sometimes you need the storm to get to the rainbow.

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234/365 - Storm Front

The last day of summer vacation and it rains.

This storm front passed through our area as I was taking Erica to horse riding lessons. Rather ominous looking, it dumped lots of rain before moving east. The horse stable even lost power during Erica's lesson.



Forecast for the first day of school - sunny, of course.

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138/365 - Lightening, Thunder, Rain, Wind, Hail

Earlier in the evening, we were camped out at the baseball field - the game had just started when the black clouds started to roll in. Plop! A single fat rain drop hit my arm. I packed up my camera and chair just as the skies opened up and released a downpour. By the time I helped Brian gather up his things and retreated to the shelter of the car, I was drenched. Seriously - like I had taken a shower with my clothes on.

By the time we got back home, the skies seemed clear but then we heard the rumbles of thunder and the approaching clouds:


The storm hit, and it seemed like another typical severe storm front passing through - all the normal elements: Thunder, lightening, wind, and torrential rain. Then the hail started falling - and hail hitting the house makes a lot of noise. The pea sized hail ripped up my hosta leaves, but didn't leave much more damage.


I did get drenched one more time - on my way to book club at Jill's house, my backyard neighbor. I didn't anticipate the newly formed river running between our lots. Oh well, we all had a great time.

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