Here in our county in Virginia had 8 inches of rain fall in 4 1/2 hours on Saturday. Countless roads were flooded. I was actually nervous listening to the rain pound our home for so long. We have been here 30 years and have never seen rain like this unless is was a passing hurricane or tropical storm. This rain event was neither.!
I had a totally different experience last night.
It has been over 130 days without rain, and this is normally a wet time for us in the desert. No monsoons this year however have reached our home which is an unheard of event.
Last night after midnight, some rouge clouds must have gotten together and had a disagreement. As I was typing away on my computer my ears perked up. Was that the sound of rain hitting the chimney? There was no rain in the forecast. I grabbed the dog and went outside. Sure enough, above our little neighborhood a small thunderstorm had formed. In most directions I could see no clouds, but above us and a bit to the north they had gathered and were gifting us with some rather large drops of rainwater. You could hear some quiet thunder way up above our heads in the distance too.
I ran back inside and woke up my sleeping husband and insisted he come down and stand out in the rain with me. He thought I was a little nuts, but obliged.
So, for the following 8 minutes, we both stood smiling and the dog and I did our own version of a grateful rain dance on the grass in our backyard. We felt the rain as it hit our skin and hair. Wet enough that our dog was even able to "shake" himself a few times to swoosh the water off his fur as he ran around the yard sniffing at the wet ground and plants.
And just as suddenly, the thunder dissipated and the rain tampered off until there was nothing left.
I thanked my husband for joining me for that brief blessing from heaven, kissed him good night and went back to my computer.
So funny how rain can be a cause of joy in one area of the country and fear in another. Sometimes we don't get 8 inches of rain in a year.
The weather station just updated that our part of the county actually got 10.9 inches. The northern area got 8. I wish we could send some of this rain to the west coast. Our back yard is all squishy when you walk on it. It will take days for it to dry out but the forecast is for more rain, but not as much.
When I was teaching I was also the Ecology Club advisor and I would have “lessons” on climate change for the kids who joined this club. Climate change deniers are just stupid.
We are experiencing a very hot going on 100 degree day. I went out to check my line drying laundry felt a raindrop hit my forehead! Grabbed the dry laundry as fast as I could and just made it back inside .
Sky is electrical, magical ions feeling just before thunder and lightning usually comes.
Something strange happening right now in the cosmos. Sky opening up magical. That yellow grey weird sky color of light!
Looked up symbolism as fast as I could. All i Googled was yellow grey sky feels like thunderstorm is coming. Yikes!
And I got:
"Broadly speaking, aerosols are thought to suppress precipitation because the particles decrease the size of water droplets in clouds. However, under some environmental conditions, aerosols can lead to taller clouds that are more likely to produce lightning and strong downpours.Nov 2, 2010
Aerosols??? Now how symbolic can one get with the Google angels than that? No tarot cards needed!
Weird indeed.
DH said our temp felt like it had just dropped 20 degrees. I'd just changed from shorts and a t shirt to winter fleece pjs and had two blankets on me after getting afternoon laundry. Huge chills overwhelmed me.
Felt that temp drop coming psychically 1/2 way early. Cue Twilight Zone music!
NASA (.gov) › earthobservatory › p...Aerosols and Clouds - Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
Don't know who is weirder. The weather or me? ?
And just look at my signature sign off below. "Someone added a ? to it and it wasn't me.
Wow! Hot for Oregon for sure!
It has been hot all over the west too. Weird about the question mark.
BTW, I love the smell of air dried laundry.
Saw this today an immediately thought of Jeanne.
130 in Death Valley on Sunday One of the hottest temperatures ever recorded globally. The hotter temperatures are actually disputed temps.
The weather is also affecting insects. I was out tending plants a couple evenings ago and was dive-bombed by a mosquito the size of a grapefruit.
I love rain. I will go outside and work in it if there's no lightning.
We are in for a fascinating, terrifying climate ride.
I have also noticed odd insect behavior.
2 times this summer, a bee has some come into our home at night and attacked our lamp by the sliding door. They have come in around midnight, no doors open. Last night one kept attempting to enter our home to get to that light. Kept smashing against our glass door. This has never happened in our 25 years here. In the spring they will sometimes enter our house through our chimney. They get trapped inside the house because they can't exit through the chimney. It is weird. This is different however.