More Weather

According to everyone from the people in town to the Weather Channel, this spring has been a record-setter.  And not just in Kentucky, but throughout the whole South.  My sister is blaming me for it.  LOL.  The last three nights neither one of us has slept very well due to:  (1) wind, (2) hail, (3) the town sirens going off, and (4) the NOAA radios ... both upstairs and down.  You don't dare turn them off or turn the volume down 'cause it's their job to wake you up to take cover.  So it's quite a conundrum ... sleep or die.


The whole area has been under a lot of weather "stress".  The link below is to a regional TV station that covers the weather for the "tri-state" area - Illinois, Indiana & Kentucky.  Anyway, yesterday was an intense weather day as the pictures at the link will show.


http://www.14wfie.com/story/14519395/ksp-tornado-touches-down-in-hanson?Call=Email&Format=HTML

Also, here is a link to CNN about the kind of records that are being broken with this weather.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/27/tornado.outbreak/index.html?hpt=T1


The worst storm started late yesterday afternoon and continued through the evening into the wee small hours of this morning (did I mention the problem sleeping??)  I cannot personally remember EVER hearing hail hit so hard.  I actually worried that it would break the windows on the west side of the house.  Most of our storms come from the SW and this house is set squarely east-west on the lot.  Anyway, along about 10 pm yesterday the hail started pounding and I snuck outside to take the following pictures.  Remember, I am coming from inside the basement.  My front door comes out under the deck upstairs (and I'm sure all the shade will come in very handy in the summer).  Take a look at the hail:






See the accumulation of hail in the bottom right corner???



In California when you get a storm, it just kind of sits overhead and rains ... sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.  Pretty much that's it ... rain.  The strange thing about storms here is that the worst part is what I'd call the "squall" line (coming from California I think in nautical terms).  This line is where the wind, rain and hail all get together and decide to form a tornado.  Once the "squall" line has moved through, things quiet down; and these "squalls" or bands do move quickly, sometimes 40 or 50 miles per hour or higher.  Once they are past your town, then you generally just get some rain and it's over.  However, in the last 10 days we keep getting band, after band, after band of these "squalls".  One right after the other.  Each band also holds an insane amount of water.  So when they continue to come and come and come with perhaps 1-3 hours in between it causes the NOAA radio to alert you time after time after time.  The potential for damaging winds, flooding and tornadoes goes on and on.


Today we just had a nice, steady, California-type rain for most of the day, which was such a pleasant change.  I understand it's supposed to start clearing up tomorrow and Friday, however there is more rain in the forecast for the week-end.


I've always said I love the rain, and I still do.  It's the other scary stuff that comes with it that I'm not so sure about.  GW & MB, you'd LOVE it here  :-)


Say good night, Gracie.


Sueky