Almost a Derecho

I woke this morning to what sounded like a giant kicking the side of my home. I had a pretty good idea what it was, since the weather folks stated a line of thunderstorm would arrive near sunrise. They were right. It was 4:00 am, but the storms were much subdued from anticipated. The time was a big factor, since the lack of daytime heating reduced their strength. Still, within minutes, the electricity went off, and the little rechargeable flashlight I keep next to my bed went out before I could reach the larger flashlight I keep in the kitchen. I crept into the kitchen, felt around for the flashlight, and was rewarded with sight once again. It gets real dark in the boonies without electricity.

The wind was howling, and the rain was pounding the side of the house. My dog was panicking, and regardless of my words of consolation, he stared at me with the look I should be doing something to make it stop. Oddly, there was little lightning, and the thunder was low in the distance. 

The heaviest of the showers didn't last but a few minutes, but the radar on my cell-phone indicated it would last for hours. So, I went back to bed. My wife, my dog, and I, soon fell back asleep. 

The sound of my printer self-checking woke me at 9:00 am. My dog soon needed to go outside, so I let him into the yard. Porch furniture was blown over, and there are a multitude of small branches scattered around the trees. My rain gauge showed only two inches of rain fell, so the road out of the neighborhood will still be passable.

Radar is showing another band of shower approaching from the west. It's looking like most of the rain will pass to the south, and with the air still unsettled by the past thunderstorms, it's likely the weather won't be so bad. I'll take that. We've had enough rain, and the grass doesn't wait for the yard to dry.