Friday 18 October 2019

And Now For Something Completely Writing Unrelated . . .

Before 2.30 this morning, I had no topic to blog about. Then, in the shadow of the night, something woke me and that all changed.

Out of nowhere, the wind picked up, a huge gale blew through our village, pelting our windows with hail and rain to the extent I thought our windows would break. This
lasted for about three minutes and then it all died away to nothing. Very odd. There are even rumours of lightning too but I must have missed that.

Suspicion: Tornado/Funnel cloud

Funnel Cloud over Pembrokeshire, Wales

I love weather, and the worse the better. I'm well aware of the devastation it can cause, and am truly sympathetic to the victims left in its path - but I can't help watching every time a storm blows through, or as spectacular cloud formations brew in the skies. Where am I during thunderstorms? Against the window with my nose pressed against the glass.

I love it. Can't help it. And there's something soothing about listening to the gentle sound of rain.

We do get tornadoes in the UK, but nothing like the monsters that rip through the US. Most of the time these tornadoes don't touch down, leaving us with just funnel clouds, but it can still kick up wind and havoc as it sweeps through. I've sat on the coast line in Devon and watched waterspouts come in before disappearing over land, and we've seen random funnel clouds snake their way by.

Whether this was a tornado or a funnel cloud, I don't know, but it created havoc in our garden. Not much by any means, but enough. Plants have been blown over, garden furniture strewn across the lawn, and the remaining leaves on our walnut tree at the back are now blanketing the grass and our cars.

Still, clearing this up gives my hubby something to do on his day off.

And to add another twist to the tale, there I was this morning, standing in our kitchen eating a banana and surveying the mess, when a little weasel decided to scurry across the lawn and along our fence. I've not seen a weasel in our garden before and this made my day. So sweet - although I wouldn't like to get my fingers too close to it...

Have any of you experienced Tornadoes in your area? Share your tales.


6 comments:

  1. The weasel is probably planning on stealing something! They predict that with this degree of pollution and global warming, a very near future will bring us rains which won't stop for months, especially in UK :) Could be good to buy a house on stilts!

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    1. Oh dear. Might be worth investing in an Arc instead...

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  2. Some years ago, I read 'Riddle of the Sands' which describes a wonderful gail in the North sea and a small dinghy being tossed in the storm-tossed sea. Being young and with more poetry in my soul than sense, I wondered what it would be like. God answered my prayers. The following night a tremendous storm hit Newport, truly a sign. Doffing an inadequate raincoat I walked the three miles to my local and arrived like the proverbial drowned rat, trying to convince myself I had proved something :)

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    1. Haha! Watching it through the window and walkng three miles in it are somewhat different, but atleast you can now say "I did that". I've dragged my sister out for a walk in a snowstorm because I thought it might be fun...

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  3. I love a good thunderstorm, as long as I'm observing from a safe location. When I was a young girl, we were out in a row boat when a storm popped up... NOT fun at all.

    Yes, tornadoes have struck way too close to us. For months, many houses in our area had blue tarps where their roofs used to be. Lots of trees and power lines down. My hubby and I are amateur radio operators, and following storms like that, we and lots of other operators (AKA Hams) provide communications and do damage assessment with the Red Cross. The amount of devastation is heartbreaking, so I'm not a fan of tornadoes.

    Have a super weekend.

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    1. The weather is a wonderful stimulus for writing isn't it. Not having experienced such things first hand, I shall never forget the funnel cloud approaching Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz. Being very young, it amazed me to see such a thing, and perhaps made the greatest impression upon me of any film I've since seen.

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