furtech | Ka-boom, ker-splash!

For the first time in a while we got a spectacular period of thunderstorms that have lasted, on and off, since last night. I heard thunder that I've never encountered before: weird, ripping sound that went on and on for 10-15 seconds at a time. There was no real crescendo or variance in the noise-- just a long ripping sound. Could possibly have been echoes in the canyons. And this morning we got (in addition to a power outage) half-inch hail. This was the biggest hail I've ever seen: I heard it ping-pinging on the wrought-iron fence. Frieda-- never really frightened by lightning or vacuum cleaners-- has been blissfully sleeping through it all outside.