Lightening and a brown house

Climate Change 😉

When I taught first grade up in Washington state, we would always do a cute cut and paste project with the saying about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. Or, the other way around, can’t always remember. Those ‘lion’ sized storms up there could be intense and a bit crazy. The high winds and drenching rains would wreak havoc on our mild springtimes with power outages and flooding. All longtime PNW residents will remember the Columbus Day Storm of 1962. Phew! Winds reaching almost 100 mph will imprint a memory for sure! But, as I recall their intensity, they were infrequent. We weren’t yet familiar with the crazy spring weather in Texas.

One of the worst windstorms ever in the PNW. The Columbus Day Storm, 1962.
Columbus Day Storm 1962 PNW.

Shocking!

And, then we moved South! The ‘spring lion storms’ here in Texas are a different animal than what we had experienced during the first 99% of our lives. Thunderstorms here literally can ‘rock your world.’ Huge sky-covering flashes and the creepy sky to ground variety followed by war-zone cracks of thunder. Oh, and this can happen in the middle of the night! When you’re not used to that phenomenon, that’ll get your heart pumping. As with all shocking things though, if you’ve experienced them several times for nine monthsish, they start losing their shock value. Well, until not one, but two houses get struck lightning in your neighborhood (no casualties except for some electronics)!

The video below was taken from my office last Saturday:

Crazy Spring Weather Drama

Some other exciting components can accompany most storms, and I must confess; I kind of like the storm drama (don’t tell). I might have a couple of radar apps, a storm chaser app and might even belong to a group or two on FB.

One crazy component we experience is the drenching downpours of hard blasting rain which often lead to flooding of streets. Which in turn leads to the smart (but, I’m sure necessary) saying, “Turn around, don’t drown.” High winds, which for us equals moving the potted flowers off the patio to safety. And, then there’s the large hail. We’re talking quarter-sized, golf ball, baseball and up pieces of frozen water pelting the earth! And, your car is in danger if it happens to be outside. (We’re very thankful for a three-car garage!) The community does support the effects of the ‘big hail’ with specialized services for hail damage at most auto-body shops. I didn’t even know that was a thing before coming to Central Texas.

Crazy Spring Weather in Texas = HuGe Hail on the Hood! Thanks to extremehailanddent.com
Thanks for the smiles extremehailanddent.com!

The “T” Word

I haven’t mentioned the storm-related word that strikes fear in a PNW transplant’s heart when talking about spring weather in Texas. You know the one: it starts with a T! We have a weather warning siren within eyeshot of our backyard, so we know that if we miss the warnings from the apps, TV, or our iPhones, we’ll be sure to hear that thing. They test once a month and it’s loud…think WWII Airraid Sirens! We’re prepped and our ‘safe place’ is ready. However, long-time Temple residents say they’ve NEVER seen one here. We’re counting on that fact!

Pink toes at the Pool! The crazy spring weather's warming up in Texas. Yay!
My toes after my first swim…blue sky, almost 90 spring day. Ahhhhh…

Through the Storms

As we get closer to summer, the non-storm days are becoming warmer and more beautiful. The blue sky warmth coupled with a backyard swimming pool overshadows the stormy days…mostly!

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalms 107:29

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4 Comments

  1. Kelly Partyke says:

    Can’t wait. LOL.

    1. Kathy Rowland says:

      You’re going to LOVE IT!! 🙂

  2. JUDE & JOHN HUBBELL says:

    Yes, southern storms are something else. Was wondering today with all the news of tornadoes if one had hit near you. Hoping not now, not ever. Stay safe. Hurricanes were our nemesis in Norfolk.

    1. Kathy Rowland says:

      Thanks, Jude! Yes, hoping for not ever ourselves. The closest recent one was an EF-2 in Abilene on Saturday morning. Those hurricanes are a whole ‘nother thing!

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