Spring Storms

Storms are part of springtime. Most of the time, I dont mind them to much. I love a good thunderstorm at night, when I can snuggle up close to hubby and watch the lightening out the bedroom window. And I love the crispness of the air after a good down pour.

In Michigan, the weather man says "watches and warnings for this time and this area" and usually, they are on target within a few minutes. The skies darken, the thunder rumbles, rain and then its done.

Thats not exactly how we roll in the Sandhills.

For starters, I dont have any local television stations to tune, nor do I have a weather radio or regular radio to turn into therefore we rely on The Weather Channel and weather.com. And our eyes. Without trees in the way we get the priviledge of watching the storms build before they hit. The typically clear blue skies will have a dark shadow of clouds in the distance and for most of the day, you can watch them roll on in over the hills.

Its something neat to see. Unless you have an over-active imagination, which I have been told (accused) of having on more then a few occasions. THEN the thunderstorm I have been hoping for all after noon has, in my mind, turned into gale force winds, hail, lightening and tornados.

Oh wait...that is exactly what we had yesterday!!!!!

The winds started Monday night and blew ALL DAY TUESDAY at 50+ mph. I have friends who lost shingles off their roofs and tin from their barns, one lost her swing set and a chiminea (not sure if the swing set is why she lost the chiminea, but I know the wind was involved). Forget about branches and trees because in wind like that, they dont stand a chance.

I prayed all day for the wind to stop...as did most everyone in the county. Especially when we heard about 2 range fires that were burning and the wind certainly wasnt helping with that.

The clouds were building and the sky to the west was black. Hubby left to go check on some friends who were in the path of the fires, and of course, that left me alone. With a terrible thunderstorm brewing. And my over-active imagination.

I was sitting exactly where I am right now when suddenly I noticed the silence. More then just my sleeping infant. Looking out the window I was shocked to see that the 50+mph winds had stopped. Just like that. No slight die off, no easy breeze blowing. Just stopped.

Moments like that are where the phrase "calm before the storm" rings in my head.

Looking out the other window was when I saw the very low, blacker the black clouds that had placed themselves on the hills just behind our barn.

At this time, my MIL calls, asks if its raining at my place yet, and says "if you feel nervous, come to our house".

Which is exactly what I did. I did remember to turn off and unplug the computer and satellite AND grab a bottle for the baby. I walked out the door and was struck again by the eeriness of the atmosphere. Also by how all our horses had come down from the hills and were staring at the same place, the hills behind the barn. The horses who were in the corrals were also staring and when I looked at my dogs....they were staring there also. Thankfully they were all looking in the opposite direction of where I was going to be headed, so I jumped into my car and left.

Pulled into my MIL drive and she informs me that they just issued a tornado warning for NW Arthur County. Which just happens to be where we live. Great.....now a tornado. Hubby out on the roads somewhere, but at least baby boy and I were not at home alone if something should happen.

Mental note: Buy radio TOMORROW.

The hail hits, the rain comes, the lightening continues and the thunder rolls. The sky is an omnious color but thankfully, no tornado. Hubby calls to make sure we are all ok because he had heard on the radio that the "center of rotation" was located at the highway interchange, which is 4 miles from where we were.

In a matter of an hour, it was all over. Hail covered the yards and roads and my MIL lost a screen, some patio furniture flipped over and a few large tree branches landed on her clothing line but otherwise, we were all good. I got large tree branches and thats about it. On my drive back to my house I noticed that all the cattle were headed back into the hills, which is a good sign. It means that things have calmed down and they can relax. If the cows relax, then I can relax.

Spring storms in the Sandhills are nothing like spring storms in Michigan. The landscape is different so the storms will obviously be different. I am not sure I will ever get used to thunderstorms out here. Even without radios or televison to hold my hand, I have way to much warning for my over-active imagination!