Storms

We've had some severe weather this spring. I've been through several springs in Oklahoma, but this one is the most exciting so far. We haven't actually had a tornado touch down within about 5 or 10 miles of us, but we've had tons of lightning, rain, hail, and wind. It comes and goes quickly too. Last Saturday morning we thought it might storm, but it wasn't serious-looking. Within 15 minutes, we could see the clouds rolling in. 15 minutes later, we were being pelted with wind, rain, hail, and lightning. It only lasted about 1/2 hour and then the sky was bright and sunny again. It was almost as if it had already forgotten about the storm. It probably rained at least an inch in that short time, and my kids thought it was great fun to be outside right in it. What possesses them to do this kind of stuff?



Only my 13 year-old daughter wasn't prancing out in the rain. I know she got wet, but somehow I missed getting her picture to prove it. Anyway, the rain came fast and strong. Just look at my poor flowers...

As I said, we also got hail with this storm. It wasn't very big in our area, about the size of marbles, but I heard it was pretty damaging in some other areas.

We've had two big storms since this one. This one lasted an hour or two. Sunday at church we heard it rolling in. Our Bishop said that if the power went out we would just continue our sacrament meeting. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, it went out. After about two minutes, everyone quieted down and the meeting continued. It was fast and testimony meeting and it ended up being very spiritual in the dark. I guess not being able to see faces somehow helps facilitate feeling the spirit? Probably not, but it was a very good meeting anyway.

The next storm was last night. We were up until about 2:00 am with tornado sirens going off. Nothing near us was organized enough to produce a tornado, but because it was possible, we had to be ready to take cover. Nothing major happened except a lot of lighting, wind, and rain. The lighting was especially cool last night. Our ceiling fan looked like it stopped everytime it got a good flash of light on it. The sky was full of lightning that didn't stop. It wasn't onesy-twosy flashes. It was a constant barrage of light. It was beautiful...and scary enough that the kids slept in the living room with flashlights. If it helps them sleep, then I guess I'm okay with it.