Newspaper Lightning

It all started around 10:30 last night. The power went off, which woke me, so I went outside to observe the weather.

I call it "newspaper lightning". The flashes are so often, you can read a newspaper. It happens rarely here, but it always signifies a weather event with strong thunderstorms.

There were storms all around, but we weren't having any rain. Radar showed a severe storm to the west, which was moving to the northeast. This meant it would miss us, so I went back to bed.

Thunder, heavy rain, and strong winds woke me at 12:30. Looking out the window only revealed heavy rain between the flashes of lightning. I rose, and started pacing the floor, while my wife did the same.

My wife used her flashlight to see out on the front porch. She commented about the roll up shade being in tatters, and soon exclaimed: "It's all over the yard." The wind picked at the shade ( which was rolled up and tied) and spread it like confetti into the yard.

It took about an hour for the storms to move on. With the end of the strong wind, I ventured onto the porch.

The rain gauge was at the top, so I knew at least five inches fell in the brief heavy rain. That meant the road to my house might be flooded, and going to work might be a problem.

I eventually went back to bed, only to be wakened at 5:00 am by the power returning. Looking out the window revealed a steady rain, so I prepared to leave for work.

I drove to the point where the road floods, and decided to return home. The half mile stretch was like a lake, and I couldn't see the depth.

So, now I'll wait until daylight to see how bad the road is flooded, and start reading the local news about storm damage. Hopefully, the weather forecasters are wrong about this all happening again this evening. I think we've had enough.