Storm Stories

Wow. Last night’s storms were doozies, weren’t they? My Midland Weather Radio® started going off around 11 p.m. and didn’t stop until sometime after 2 a.m.

Needless to say, it got my attention (which is the goal, right).

Everyone loves to talk about the weather. It’s a common denominator. And when we have a round of storms like last night – and may get again later tonight - it’s a pretty daunting topic.

All this talk about nasty spring weather – including my re-blog of the Good Friday storm stories – brought some other tales to mind. Over the years, seems like I have been around/involved in some interesting weather.

Here are some personal weather-related vignettes: 

On the Field

Baseball and spring weather go hand-in-hand. Over the years, there were a few times that Mother Nature had her way with our ability to play.

Once, the Choppers were playing in a tournament at Halls. We got a few innings in during the Friday night game and, about halfway through, the rain overtook the field.  

We sought shelter under a picnic pavilion at the ballpark and just then, we realized what a bad idea that was as the rain turned into a full-blown storm. One of Lisa’s favorite stories from that incident was how one of the boys handed her an aluminum bat and asked her to hold on to it. 

Not the best idea during an electrical storm.

At any rate, we didn’t play another inning that weekend.

The same thing happened another time when we were playing ‘on the hill.’ We were in a home tournament in our home park and, ironically, we were facing another Farragut team on Friday night.

This game is memorable, to me, because Paul was pitching that first game and he got nailed with a line drive to the belly during one of the early innings. He fell to his knees, grabbed the ball, turned and threw the batter out.

Just then, he felt the pain! That line drive left a ball-stitch bruise on his abdomen.

Not long after the great defensive gem, we started noticing some dark clouds on the horizon. Before you could say ‘Play Ball’ we were engulfed in a deluge. We sprinted to our cars in the parking lot and waited until the game was called.

Again, we didn’t play any more that weekend.

It’s Gonna Rain

Speaking of getting drenched, that happened to me once on the softball field.

We had an annual tradition of playing a softball game on July 4th and then retreating to someone’s home for a backyard barbeque after the game. My mother always liked to tell us “It’s gonna rain!” I think, secretly, she didn’t want us to play ball. 

Her weather forecast was given year after year and it rarely came to fruition. But, once, she was (ahem) right as rain. I still have the photo of me, standing at home plate, as I was getting soaked. And I’m shouting to the heavens: “It’s Gonna Rain!”

And it really did.

No Where to Run
Last night, Lisa and I recounted the story about the time we were on vacation and the skies turned green. That, of course, is an unsettling feeling.

This was during our first vacation trip to Toronto (and the quick drive-by to Niagara Falls). 

We were driving somewhere in rural northwest Ohio (or southeast Michigan – I can’t remember which). The weather started to go downhill and soon, the sky turned green. Just then, we started getting hail. Lisa and I began exchanging glances without saying much.

Instinctively, we knew we were in a tough spot. We were out in the middle of no where. There was no where to run.

Finally, we pulled over and parked in the parking lot of a country store/quickie mart. We sat there waiting to see what might happen next. Soon, the storm passed.

Later, when we made it to our hotel for the evening, we learned there had, indeed, been some very severe weather in the general area. Fortunately, it wasn’t close to us.

Still, the green sky is an eery feeling. When you see that, you know something just ain’t right! 

Fireball
My dad and I were recently recounting the Good Friday story that I told you about. That prompted a discussion of another unique weather event we witnessed. 

During another electrical storm, he and I were looking out the back window at his house. All of a sudden, there was a lightning strike and we both saw some interesting dancing lightning that resembled a fireball.

The incident was so intriguing that, once the storm passed, he and I went out back to inspect the area near the back of his lot. We wanted to make sure there was no damage; no evidence of the afore-mentioned weather phenomenon.

We found nothing. No damage. No burn marks. Nothing at all.

But, we both know what we saw. We talked about this fact just last week.

It was crazy…just like our weather. What is it they say about weather in East TN? If you don’t like it, just wait a little while because it is likely to change. 

Very apt.

JG

Originally posted 4/29/2014