MEME: Monday Madness -- WX

Otto has been without electricity and Internet access after a series of severe thunderstorms did their thing on Sunday and early Monday. The questions got posted much later than usual. As always, get your own copy of the questions and leave a link in the comments to your answers over at the Monday Madness site.

1. What kind of storm is the most scarey to you?
Hurricanes tend to scare the bejeebus out of me over most other forms of extreme weather.
2. In your opinion, what is the perfect outdoor temperature?
Actually, it's a range -- 65°F to 75°F (18°-22°C)
3. Would you rather experience thunderstorms or snowstorms?
Snowstorms -- rarely have to deal with lightning during snowstorms.
4. Share a weather-related experience with us...feel free to include pictures!

No pictures, although I posted a photo of a similar incident here. In 1972 I was working as an oiler at Lake Champlain Transportation on the venerable (1928) M.V. Champlain, a car ferry plying the route between Burlington, VT and Rouse's Point, NY (near Ausable Chasm). One afternoon in late August we experienced a line storm accompanied by micro-bursts in the 80 MPH range. The wind and wave noise, coupled with the crashing around of cars on deck made it impossible to use the 1" brass pipe blow tube/intercom. I left the engine room and managed to get across the car deck without being pinned by the thrashing vehicles, then up the stairs to the pilot house to consult with the captain about whistle signals to be used to dock. I no sooner managed to climb the ladder to the pilot house, squeeze in and slam the door shut when we hit a rogue wave on the port quarter, burying the bow into the back of a wave while another tried to sink us by "pooping" i.e. coming in over the stern and flooding the rear of the vessel. The old girl was up to the task -- she popped out of the water like a cork and, because she had so much exposed side, then blew sideways and slammed back down on the water, hard. The violent wrenching motion tossed me from one side of the pilot house to the other, a distance of 12 feet or so, after the momentum wrenched me free of the death grip I'd had on grab bars placed in strategic locations to prevent flying crewmen. I got a cracked rib and a wicked headache from when my head bounced off the pilot house door. Docking was fun, too.