Earlier on in the evening, the weather forecasters let loose with the prognostication that "baseball-sized" hail might accompany the storms. Then, as it got closer, they ratcheted things up with the "T-Word" . Right, tornado. To make matters worse, the discussion of hail became reports of actual "basketball-sized" ice chunks falling over farmland to our southwest. Hmm, I doubted that one -- turns out the forecaster had mistyped and meant to use the well -worn cliche of "baseball-sized" ice chunks. Still, considering that hail falls at near terminal velocity I wouldn't want my aluminum-skinned home coming in contact with it, don'tcha know?
Any way, I got unassed from the lounger, brought the dogs inside and went out and woke my wife, SWMBO. Suffice it to say she was MOST UNHAPPY having her slumber disturbed. Still, damned if you do, damned if you don't -- I err on the side of caution. She'd rip me a new one if she woke up inside the trailer during a major hail event.
The severe weather arrived with, thankfully, just a leading edge of sub-penny sized hail. That onslaught lasted less than 20 seconds and "we escaped unscathed", as they say. Meaning, it might have put some minor dings in the roof but you can't see them. Farther north and east of here, they had some significant damage with trees and wires down and flash floods. We just got a bodacious light show with a subsonic (and sonic) shakeup.
That's the payment extracted for the warm, humid 70° F. day we'd had on Sunday.
Before you get too excited, snowlanders, consider this, headed my way tomorrow night and Wednesday morning ...
<>
