As a child growing up on the left coast, I was always properly impressed with a really good summer thunder & lightning storm (or sometimes a tornado) while visiting my grandparents in Illinois. Portland averages 7 thunderstorms a year. We are blessed with what I have come to believe are the best summer weather days of anywhere in the country, with temperatures in the 80s & low humidity, & bright sunshiny days....well worth getting through the 6 months of rain that we call winter. Thunderstorms are such an anomaly, that I usually am thrilled to be able to witness the drama & wonder.
I returned home yesterday afternoon, after a difficult, busy & stressful 11 hour work day, to a beautiful 80 degree afternoon at home (I was thinking...maybe a cocktail & hot tub dip). I greeted the curs, opened all the windows in the house, & started in on the watering of the garden. Watering in early June is unusual, to say the least, but we have been enjoying a two week run of summer-ish weather. 12 minutes after starting my gardening chores, the sky swiftly, suddenly & dramatically filled with ominous, swirling grey-green clouds & twisting wind in huge blasts. The air felt, smelled & looked like a tornado. Huge claps of thunder, followed by zaps of lightning, seemed to come from directly over the house. All the things on the shelves were shaking. I quickly ran around shutting all the windows, but a large amount of debris had already entered the house. I watched with trepidation as the the garden took a beating. The husband called from his work saying that planter boxes & sandwich boards were flying down the streets of the Pearl District.
An hour later it was basically over, but the local news was already running a special edition of June Storm Watch 09 complete with special music, graphics & video. The winds were reported at 70 miles an hour & there were 109 lightning strikes in the city.
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