Clintonium!

Hailstorm in July

July 3rd, 2008 - Comments (7)

This morning, a little after 2:30 AM, Lisa and I were awakened by the single most violent thunderstorm that I’ve experienced in 15 years of northwest rain. It was incredible.

The first booming peals of thunder were so loud that they shook the entire house, woke us both, and set our hearts racing. Lisa hurried to check on the boys, and I hurried down to open the front door and stand staring at the spectacle. The sky was strobing, seemingly from directly over the house, and the lightning and thunder were coming right on top of each other. The thunder had that crisp, cracking attack that sounds like tearing fabric. The air was warm and thick, and as I stood there, the rain came like a wave sweeping over the yard. It poured down heavier and heavier, building into a deluge, until standing there under the eave was like standing under the rim of Silver Falls. Suddenly everything was rattling, and I was laughing in disbelief.

It was hailing. In July.

I reached out and picked up a hailstone and it was just a bit smaller than a marble. Lisa joined me at the door, and we both stood and watched the storm for a few more minutes. Amazingly, the boys all slept right through it (they’ve become pretty sound sleepers in learning to live with each other in a single room).

Taken together with the tornado that we had in January, this is shaping up to be a year highlighted by some truly freakish weather. Maybe we’re seeing the first symptoms of climate change.

Or maybe God has been amused by the amateur pyrotechnics of our roman candles and sparklers, and He decided to remind us what a real fireworks display looks like.

Either way, what a show.