Extreme Weather

Sjoe! Yesterday was quite something! It started out windy, then got thundery, then rainy, then hot and sunny (and windy)... it just went on and on. A huge supercell came lumbering past, bringing with it the most extreme weather I think I've ever seen in the Cape.


Around 3:30 it got really, really dark (this pic was taken looking in the same direction as the first on on this post...). These huge black clouds moved in from Cape Town side and emptied themeselves on top of us. The entire time the wind shrieked by. By evening it was still gale-force, and I was a bit hesitant to head off to church. All along the road branches were being blown down, leaves and logs lying everywhere - and everyone swerving all over the place to avoid them.

As the service ended, we found a sky flashing constantly with sheet lightening. My son insisted we pray for a safe (10 minute) drive home, and we took an alternative route to the debris-strewn one. Near home there was a "clunk!" on the roof of the car. We'd just driven under a gum tree, so I thought it was a gumnut - then saw marble-sized hail exploding like snowballs on the road in front of me...

We did a mad dash home and parked ourselves as far into a tree as we could - but fortunately the hailstorm had already passed us by.

My son and I unplugged everything electronic, then sat in my dark bedroom watching the lighting turn darkness into day. It took a while for him to sleep - with all the extreme weather going on outside he was somewhat fearful, but managed to calm down eventually.

Just after he went to bed I had another look out my window and saw something glowing on the sea. Grabbed the binoculars and managed to make out a boat on fire, obviously hit by a bolt of lightning! Who in their right mind goes out to sea in this weather????

The storm went on all night, thunder growing and waning, then driving rain against the windows. Half-formed imaginings of hail kept me semi-concious most of the night.

This morning we awoke to a wet and windy world, grey and foggy, but with the constant wind and wet still going.

Sure, we need rain - but does it have to come with THIS??? :)

::update::
Bloggers who were THERE include Sub.Soil, Cherryflava, eKapa (by proxy, as he mostly got to experience the after-effects...:)).

Seems the International Conference Centre in Cape Town lost its roof (can you say "bad design for the Cape of Storms"?).

One woman struck by lightning, hail from Strand to Durbanville. The usual overflowing roads and pipe systems, and the rain still goes on, and on, and on.

The best part of all this is that it's happening in the water-catchment areas for most of our major dams and rivers. They're filling up...