Bad Move On My Part
We have locally been without rain for maybe three weeks, until today. This afternoon we had a couple of real cloudbursts.
A little after 9:00 PM I decide to walk over to the local video rental and return some DVDs and maybe get something else. I step outside and see the sky to North is very dark and some lightning toward the horizon but it's far enough away that no thunder is reaching me. I look West, the direction I will go and watch the clouds in the sky. They are moving Northward and the sky is blue to the South. The rain clouds are definitely moving away from us, so it should be OK. I start that half-mile stroll to the video rental. As I approach I notice something odd. The clouds to the East have changed direction and are now moving South while the clouds to West don't appear to be moving at all.
Hmmm. Wind must have changed. I better hurry.
I go inside and as I am checking out my selection I look out the window and . . .
It's raining again.
Oh boy is it raining. So I stand by the doorway waiting for it to clear up. It does a few minutes later and I head out the door. I get about a third of the way home and all of a sudden it's raining buckets again. (No warning . . . it just suddenly starts again.) So I walk under the awning of an abandoned gas station and wait it out maybe five minutes or just a little bit more.
Hmmm. Maybe I should have drove. (I have always believed that there is nothing wrong with walking a short distance. I am not one of those people who will drive one or two blocks unless I have a heavy load to move.)
I get about three blocks from home and here we go again. This is getting absurd. This time it was about 15 minutes. I stood in the doorway of a closed shop and watched. About five minutes into the downpour everything went dark for a couple of seconds and then the lights came back on. Blackouts look a little different when you're outside watching them happen. During the downpour I saw one thoroughly soaked but determined pedestrian walk by me.
The rain stopped and I looked around. Where I was the sidewalks are about 15 feet wide with a curb that typical for around here, maybe 4 or 5 inches. The street looked like a shallow fast flowing river and it was deep enough that the 4 or 5 feet of sidewalk closest to the street was also underwater. I had to go a couple of blocks out of my way to find a place where I could cross the street without completely soaking my shoes. (In hindsight, maybe I should have taken them off and waded.)
I have been home just over half an hour and it hasn't rained since and streets have drained into the drains and the river.
I think maybe our mild drought has had a not so mild ending.
Update: Next day
Curiously enough, almost exactly the same thing happened to me exactly one year and one day previously. See post. Lone Pony's comment was from that post and I had forgotten about it. Maybe I shouldn't go on walks in late June.
A little after 9:00 PM I decide to walk over to the local video rental and return some DVDs and maybe get something else. I step outside and see the sky to North is very dark and some lightning toward the horizon but it's far enough away that no thunder is reaching me. I look West, the direction I will go and watch the clouds in the sky. They are moving Northward and the sky is blue to the South. The rain clouds are definitely moving away from us, so it should be OK. I start that half-mile stroll to the video rental. As I approach I notice something odd. The clouds to the East have changed direction and are now moving South while the clouds to West don't appear to be moving at all.
Hmmm. Wind must have changed. I better hurry.
I go inside and as I am checking out my selection I look out the window and . . .
It's raining again.
Oh boy is it raining. So I stand by the doorway waiting for it to clear up. It does a few minutes later and I head out the door. I get about a third of the way home and all of a sudden it's raining buckets again. (No warning . . . it just suddenly starts again.) So I walk under the awning of an abandoned gas station and wait it out maybe five minutes or just a little bit more.
Hmmm. Maybe I should have drove. (I have always believed that there is nothing wrong with walking a short distance. I am not one of those people who will drive one or two blocks unless I have a heavy load to move.)
I get about three blocks from home and here we go again. This is getting absurd. This time it was about 15 minutes. I stood in the doorway of a closed shop and watched. About five minutes into the downpour everything went dark for a couple of seconds and then the lights came back on. Blackouts look a little different when you're outside watching them happen. During the downpour I saw one thoroughly soaked but determined pedestrian walk by me.
The rain stopped and I looked around. Where I was the sidewalks are about 15 feet wide with a curb that typical for around here, maybe 4 or 5 inches. The street looked like a shallow fast flowing river and it was deep enough that the 4 or 5 feet of sidewalk closest to the street was also underwater. I had to go a couple of blocks out of my way to find a place where I could cross the street without completely soaking my shoes. (In hindsight, maybe I should have taken them off and waded.)
I have been home just over half an hour and it hasn't rained since and streets have drained into the drains and the river.
I think maybe our mild drought has had a not so mild ending.
Update: Next day
Curiously enough, almost exactly the same thing happened to me exactly one year and one day previously. See post. Lone Pony's comment was from that post and I had forgotten about it. Maybe I shouldn't go on walks in late June.
posted by shoprat at 10:46 PM
10 Comments:
Don't you just hate it when that happens???
Did you remember to close your windows this time? :)
That rain was wonderful! My lawn is so happy now. First time it has been green in six weeks.
I'd hate to be caught in the storm, though.
lmc Only when I can't get inside. Actually I love storms.
lp I had forgotten about that.
jay Yes things are green again.
some days you're the bowling pin and others you're the ball....
lol lol
Halfway to the door to the plant, and the skies opened up on me. Drenched head to toe, and dripping water through the hallways. At least I'm wash & wear without shrinkage....
I remembered your post about what happened last year, but I wasn't sure on the date. Amazing!
And in contrast to where you are, to with Tejas, I'm suffering the South Lake Tahoe fire. I just assisted a buddy of mine with the evacuation of his house on Anita Avenue. I live about 30 miles away but am still surrounded by remarkably dry trees and brush that environmentalists REFUSE to let ANYONE in Fornicalia cut or thin.
The responsibility for this fire in SLT is DIRECTLY on the BACKS of the fucked-up ENVIRONMENTALISTS who REFUSE to listen to ANY amount of common sense.
Too bad THEIR HOMES couldn't be in the path of this massive fire.
BZ
Murphy's Law for sure!
The same thing happened to us yesterday, Shoprat. We had a break from the rain for about four hours. The sun was even shining. But we had to go to town to pick up our pickup, which was in for repairs. While driving into town suddenly the rain came back in sheets. While we were at the garage it stopped, and on the way home it came again, even worse than the first time. It's rained so much here that we gave up not getting soaked. We just got out of our vehicles when we got home and walked to the house in the downpour. Good think we didn't try to wait it out because it lasted another two hours.
It's not raining now but is supposed to start up again at noon. Why is it the weather forcasters seem to get it wrong when predicting great weather but usually get it right when predicting bad weather? :)
S'ok we just got back from Texas and man look at the weather there now!.ha!
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