Here is a short story for you enjoyment - your comments are appreciated.

“Weather Alert” – A Short Story

It’s 2:00 a.m. and I am up.  That is not really unusual. A little earlier than normal, but not completely out of the norm for me.  It’s really hot and humid out and I just can’t sleep.  So, I hit the back deck and grab a deck chair, light a cig and just sit.  I’m checking email and stalking Facebook posts.  It’s pretty quiet out except for the buzz from the freezer box next to me, a buzz that won’t seem to quit no matter how hard frozen the objects inside seem to get.  Maybe there is something wrong with the thing.  I don’t know.  Right now is not the time to think about that.  There are so many things to think about when you are up and alone in the middle of the night.  The mind likes to churn and spin.  My Droid just beeped at me.  Oh, a weather alert.  I wonder what it could be.

I love weather, so an alert is like candy. Got to see what it is.  Yesterday, the Weather Bug told me there would be rain.  Not a drop fell all day.  Sometimes I wonder.  Yesterday could not have been more beautiful.  Not a cloud in the sky.  It was warm out but not as warm as the day before, and there was a nice southerly breeze to keep things just a little cooler. The same weather forecast called for rain today, too.  I have yet to see anything that resembles a rain cloud; just lots of bright stars in the night sky.

Back to the weather alert.  So, I drop the screen and take a look.  The National Weather Service has just issued a severe thunderstorm warning for most of the south coast of Texas.  As I said, I have not yet seen a cloud in the sky.  A half an hour or more goes by and still nothing.  Then it started.  The most amazing lightning storm I have ever witnessed.  Hundreds and hundreds of brilliant flashes of light illuminating the night sky off in the distant northwest.  Flashes of light in complete silence.

The sky is flashing out in front of the boat, well to the north.  Miles to the north.  So far to the north in fact that there is no sound of thunder associated with the lightning.  Each time the lightning goes off, the sky is brightened so I can see the clouds far off in the distance.  Strange thing is, the breeze is still from the south, but according to the radar image I downloaded from the NWS, the storm is moving from the southeast to the northwest.  There is a prediction for northwest winds, but I am not feeling it at all.  I can still see stars.  The breeze is very light.  Very strange.  Am I afraid?  What’s to be afraid of?  Hell, I am awake in the middle of the night, alone, in a strange place, it’s dark and lightning is going off like popcorn in a hot pot of oil.  Afraid?  Not really.  Apprehensive is more like it. 

Fear is a good thing.  It lets you know you are alive.  Fear is a motivator.  I am a motivated person right now.  What do I know from lightning storms?  I’m a southern California boy.  We don’t have lightning storms in California.  We don’t have storms, period.  Occasionally it rains.  Sometimes, it rains a lot.  But true storms?  Storms where an intense phase of weather gathers its fundamental elements in one solid, thick, packed punch that moves in fast and moves out fast?  No, we don’t have storms in California. 

Wait, there has just been a serious wind shift.  The wind just clocked northwest.  Great!  The storm is coming towards us now.  There is wind in the masts of the boats on the hard in the yard next to our temporary place.  My Texas courtesy flag is banging away on the starboard pole.  It is an eerie cold wind.  It moved in like an ooze that just swallows up everything.  So much for peace.  There is a dog barking out there in the dark somewhere.  I hear the wind gusting.  Now the boat is moving.  Good thing we have lots of fenders out and plenty of lines.  Still, it’s an eerie sensation to be moving in the night with lightning flashes all around.  Now there is thunder.  This storm is getting more intense.  I can’t help but chuckle a little at the fact that I am actually here writing about this as it is taking place. 

The wind is getting a little more intense now.  My psyche is not helped by the fact that the NWS alert mentioned the possibility of tornados, not to mention gusts to 60 knots, and the likelihood of hail to two inches.  Ok, I am not liking the idea of golf ball size ice chunks hitting the boat at 60 knots.  This is intense.  Tornados at night!  Light another smoke.

The wind is strange.  It is not blowing that hard, but it makes a lot of noise moving amongst the masts of nearby sailboats.  Clanking halyards and sheets, combined with the movement of the boat, the lightning.  Ok, I just started hearing the thunder.  That means the lightning is getting closer.  It is by no means simultaneous;  that, I just do not need.  All kinds of loose stuff is blowing around in the boat yard.  I just heard a ladder come down, and what sounded like a pile of wood shift.  Someone has a really loose halyard.  It sounds like a snare drum.  There is a really high pitched whining sound out there as the boat now moves from side to side. 

The sky is darker now.  Hey, I just noticed something.  All the crickets just went silent.  And the air took on a distinct chill. There is not as much lightning, but I cannot see any stars either.  Ahhh.  Now the rain starts.  Just short blasts.   A couple buckets hitting the windows at a time, followed by a gust of wind.  A lot more lightning now.  This storm seems to be a pretty fast mover.  Now, lightning, thunder and rain, gusting wind all at the same time.  A nighttime storm passing does weird things in your head.  I know we are safe.  At least I think so.  Like I said, what do I know about south Texas storms rolling in off the Gulf of Mexico?  Not a damn thing.  I’ve never been here before.  Motivation again.  Still motivated.  It will be daylight soon – just another couple of hours.  Couple of hours?  Better than a couple of days, right? 

The lightning has moved all around the boat.  This storm front is literally sweeping over the top of us. I wonder how long the rain will last.  Heavy, heavy rain.  Rain coming down in sheets. Heavier every minute.  Better close some windows. That was an adventure.  Lovely.  There has been a power outage and it is completely dark outside.  I’m sitting quite motivated in a black hole with flashes of lightning all around.  Thunder and more thunder.  Have you ever sat in your car when it went through the carwash?  Know that sound? There is neither lightning nor thunder in the car wash. And it’s far from pitch dark. Imagine that.  A big thunder clap just shook all the windows. 

The Gulf Radar is showing the heaviest part of the storm right on top of us right now.  It looks like it should pass fairly soon.  Unless, the storm just hugs the coast moving from north east to south west.  If that’s the case, this will last several more hours.  The color on the radar image over our location is deep red.  The lightning flashes are intense.  I read somewhere that if you count the seconds between the flashes and the thunder, then divide by five, you can have a rough estimate on the distance from the lightning.  That last flash flurry was less than 5 miles away, less than 4 miles away, less than 2 miles away.  It’s getting closer.  Motivation, motivation, motivation. 

Looking on the bright side, at least there are no drips in the wheel house under all those roof-top installations I did over the last few days.  I know it only takes you a couple minutes to read this, but for me this has been going on for 3 hours.    There’s a blinding flash.  Wow.  The thunder following that flash shook the boat.  It has been flash after flash for a few hours now.  So much for the bright side.  Oh come on!  I sure am glad there are all those tall metal masts all around me.  At first, there was a real intensity to this whole thing.  Now it’s becoming a real drag. 

Wait.  Now, three and a half hours after it all started, the rain seems to be getting lighter.  It’s still more than an hour to sunrise.  But the lightning is booming less frequently. The lights have come back on in the harbor. I think the worst of it has passed.  The boat is dry, we are dry.  The cats are dry.  All’s well with the world once again.  As I said before, fear and apprehension motivate.  They let you know you are alive.  To my knowledge, we were never in any real danger, but sitting through a fast moving lightning and thunder storm at night, alone, and in the dark is a real head trip.  Fear?  Not really.  Apprehension?  Sure.  Would I do this again?  In a heartbeat.  I’m going back to bed now.  My brain is tired and the crickets are chirping  nce again.