Sweet Relief

In news to no one, it's been hot like a sauna here in the northeast. Oh man has it been hot. I am such a wimp about normal heat that there are really no words to describe my horror at seeing numbers like 98 and 100 on my thermometer. Last night the heatwave finally broke. A cold front passed through a little before 11:00 in dramatic fashion.

I stood by a window and watched as the still, sultry night air transformed as the storm approached. Leaves began to flip and turn in the breeze and then branches began to sway then slash. Then the storm hit.

A constant strobe of lightning, freezing the deluge of raindrops for a split second seeming to halt them in mid-fall.

A continual roar of thunder, low and far away then crashing loud and close.

A wall of water falling, flooding the street in an instant, filling the potholes, overwhelming the storm drains.

The way the earth seemed to just sigh in relief and then gasp at the full power of the water and wind that came blasting through.

Alternating blasts of hot and cold as the air swirled with the storm.

And then, it was over. It was about eight minutes of pure natural power and then, just as fast as it arrived it was gone. The air was 15 degrees cooler the rain dripped from the leaves and gathered in puddles and the wind was still again.