Early evening and I am working to finish up the dinner dishes. Looking out the back window of the house, the sky begins to turn dark. Flashes of light followed by immediate rumbling tells me that the storm is very near. We stand outside in the calm before the storm watching the clouds churn until the droplets of water overtake us. We race inside and watch from through the screens. Suddenly, the sky opens up and drops Mother Nature's fury on our small village in the valley. The time and the rain seem endless. The view of the neighborhood is blocked by sheets of torrential rain. Small pellets of hail pound us from all angles until the noise begins to drive me insane. The lights flicker several times until finally going out; leaving us in total darkness save the lightning flashes. Flashlights become our beacon in the night. The dripping from various locations in our ceiling, is definitely keeping our attention focused directly on the storm and nothing else. Buckets, bowls, and towels are strategically placed to keep water from damaging our personal belongings. After an endless hour (maybe more), the storm passes and we are left with only the sound of our small stream raging in the night. The waters have overflowed their banks and are lapping at the base of the hill on either side. Full size trees are rolling through the water; tumbling until an obstacle holds them in place. Bridges are disappearing under the fast flowing current. The road is covered in sand, rocks, and boulders making passage difficult. We venture out into the night to survey the damage; forgetting the camera on the shelves. The road is blocked to the South; police lights flashing to warn us to turn around. The road is damaged but passable to the North but the time has slipped away and sleep calls to us. We return home. Lights and running water in the house still allude us but sleep finally takes over and we rest. At first light, we will see the damage:
The house - just some wash out.
Across the road from us, the river was raging across the bridge and the road.
About a mile down the road from our house is a little park area that I like to walk the dogs to. This is their watering hole.
Field of wild flowers - damaged but still beautiful!
I do not know the storm totals but if I were to guess, I would say 3 to 4 inches AT THE MINIMUM in only about an hour to an hour and a half. As far as we know, no one was hurt. Only one house that we know of had any real damage and that was just a mud slide covering up the garage. Another house is now completely secluded as the road in was completely washed out (seriously, the road is gone). Unfortunately, when we went for a drive this evening, I once again forgot the camera! If I get a chance in the next couple of days, I will try to get some photos; it definitely has changed the landscape around us a bit. We obviously have gotten power back and everything in the valley is returning to normal. I just have never seen it rain so hard in such a short period of time; crazy!! Oh well, we kind of like the adventure of it all!!
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