Well, shit, I've only been back in town a couple of days and all hell breaks loose.
Today started off relatively uneventful; the friend I'm staying with had to work today and I brought my laptop with me so I could work as well -- one of the big perks of being a remote freelance designer.
It was HOT today, I mean HOT. Summers in CT are extra special because humidity always makes it feel hotter than thermometer says it is. Heat index was probably 105 F. Thankfully, my old room has an AC in the window so I was comfortable.
I was about to join a Zoom meeting today a little before 6 PM when I realized it seemed kinda dark out there. Storm clouds were rolling in, and it soon started to rain. Summer thunderstorms are common as hell around here, and I was actually pretty psyched about it. We don't typically get t-storms in western WA, but summers are dry and don't usually get above 90 -- the conditions for storms just aren't there.
My old room is on the second floor so I had a good vantage point for watching the storm. It seemed peaceful enough at first but quickly intensified. Needless to say, I cancelled my Zoom appointment.
Thankfully we were all home at the time. My friend and I had just gotten back from an errand about an hour before when the sun was blazing and no sign of a storm. The wind started to REALLY pick up and the rain was coming down in torrents. The lightning was right overhead and getting crazy.
The streets started to flash flood a bit, branches and debris flying everywhere, the house was shaken a few times by the wind, trees were bending in half. Roof shingles and pieces of siding were strewn in the street. I started to feel a bit nervous about it, wondering if we should go to the basement for safety. The strength of the winds made it feel like we were in the path of a small tornado.
I don't recall ever witnessing a storm that got that intense that quickly, and we've gone through hurricanes, ice storms, Nor'easters, and plenty of strong thunderstorms. The damage from this event is more extensive than most any other storm I've personally lived through. I haven't heard any official confirmation yet, but there are rumors that a small tornado moved through the area. It passed pretty quickly at least; the wind and rains seemed to stop rather abruptly. It was an eerie feeling. We went outside to walk around the hood a bit to assess the damage.
A bunch of our neighbors were outside as well, everyone making sure everything was okay. Sirens in the air and reports on the scanner showed us that we were pretty damn lucky on our street, and relatively unscathed.
Some trees, including one in the park next door, were completely blown over. Our power went out for a few hours afterward. We heard many reports of fires and downed power lines, crushed vehicles, blown-out windows, destroyed gardens, flattened gazebos, and damaged homes. I don't think anyone was hurt though, what a relief. It was a fucking scary storm.
The air temperature cooled off considerably, though, so at least we weren't dying in the heat. The skies cleared up gradually, in unsettling neon shades as the sun set.
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