Friday, June 10, 2005

Violent Pink Cotton Candy

Posted by Hello


These are storm clouds as seen from my back porch last week. One of the best things about living here is our weather. Like anyone else, we complain about it all the time. We tell the same tired old jokes about our weather that you tell about yours - "Don't like it? Give it a minute, it'll change!"

The sand storms suck. Well - blow, actually. Most farmers are using some modicum of soil conservation techniques these days, so they aren't nearly as bad as they could be.

It's hot, of course. But not nearly as hot as the land down off the caprock and besides, "its a dry heat". Hell yeah, its dry.

But we also have cool, calm mornings, summer nights that last half the year, and incredible sunrise and sunset light shows and the biggest canvass God ever made to view them on. And of course, storms.

This is tornado alley. We love to make fun of the Chicken Little-esq Weathermen and all their goofy gadgets. They interrupt regular programming at will and stay "Live On The Air" until the wee hours in hopes of being the first to find a tornado. There is radar and satellite imagery. There is a small armada of storm chasers who constantly phone in reports, sightings and digital pictures. They are an excitable cadre of boy scouts and you'd better get out of the way if you see them careening down the backroads. They're watching the skies, not the traffic. Its all fun and games until they start talking about your county and how the storm is headed for your house and then you're glad they're there.

Last month we made national news (slow news day) because we had 10 tornadoes in a single evening. Tonight is supposed to be much the same.

We'd planned to go camping this weekend. We were headed to Caprock Canyon tonight. Then we watched the Wednesday night news. The Weatherboy said this was a first - the national weather service issued a warning of a moderate risk of severe storms for Friday night. He'd never seen them issue any kind of a warning three days early. Hmm...could that be a sign?


Also, Jackson and I have concluded there is someone in Silverton, a town not far from the canyon, that just ain't living right. They have gotten their butts kicked by every storm we've had this year. Any cloud that forms any where between here and Albuquerque heads straight down their gullet. Perhaps this is not a good night to be there. In a tent.

So we'll sit around the house, watching the weather dudes and arguing whether or not my motorcycle is under the carport far enough to avoid hail damage. I'll probably mope around the front door considering the viability of throwing myself on the flower beds as a means of saving the plants. But they'll grow back. It won't be boring. And it will always be gorgeous.

9 comments:

halloweenlover said...

WOW! What a picture! We don't have anything as dramatic, except for our crazy summer lightning storms. The rain comes down in sheets and the thunder and lightning are so strong and fast that you can barely differentiate one from the other. I love summer nights where I listen to rain hit the leaves outside.

I'll have to visit Texas to see these. I can't imagine 10 tornados in one night.

Captainwow said...

SWEET Picture! Storminess, indeed. Those weather geeks are infinitely annoying to me but I also love them. Getting a warning is often a very good thing. Especially if it happens to be accurate.
heh.
gotta take the good with the bad wherever we live.

Captainwow said...

SWEET Picture! Storminess, indeed. Those weather geeks are infinitely annoying to me but I also love them. Getting a warning is often a very good thing. Especially if it happens to be accurate.
heh.
gotta take the good with the bad wherever we live.

jonboy said...

The weather guys are great. But ... I was watching a couple of channels last night. One guy I can't stand because he sensationalizes a head cold. At one point I swear I heard him say "A tornado has hit to communities. We hope everones OK." As he is frantically telling people living in mobile homes to "immediately run for safety."
Turn the channel and the other guy is calmly telling us that a funnel has touched down in a rural area of the county.

spookyrach said...

Damn, Janet, that really hurts! Ha ha!

annie said...

That is a gorgeous picture. Sorry your camping trip was messed up....is the weather report still accurate? Because that would make me madder than an old wet hen to cancel y camping trip and then have the weather turn out to be just loverly!

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

Again, I just love your photos. I am glad you had to cancel your camping trip. naner naner naner.

Jody Harrington said...

Aren't the Panhandle skies the best? El Jefe grew up in a small town north of Amarillo and we're going up there in a couple of weeks for his high school reunion. Your picture is fabulous and reminds me of a couple of watercolors we have of West Texas tornado skies.

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