Summer Prairie Storms

People who I have met when we lived in the Southwest United States and East Coast have told me that the weather is so drastic where they live that you can "wait 5 minutes and the weather will change." I always told them that they have never been through a summer in Alberta.

Here in Edmonton (and Calgary), storms roll off the mountains/foothills quicker than you realize. Tonight's forecast was for a 30% chance of thundershowers in my area, but tornado warnings were issued to the south of us in Red Deer (halfway to Calgary).

A few clouds were forming at 7pm when I took my convertible out to go to town to get some take-out at KFC. It was a 5 minute drive so I left the top down - but by the time I was going to head back (7:15pm) - the storm clouds had rolled into town.

"You're going to get rained on!" the drive-thru attendant warned me.

"I can make it" - But the trees were starting to bend in the wind that wasn't blowing a minute ago and that looked like rain hanging down from the cloud in the distance. We were just on the edge of it and I was still sure that those dark clouds might skirt around us. I was heading north out of town away from them so I didn't bother stopping to put the top up. I can make it - I thought.

Five minutes later I was still 5 minutes away from home on the highway, hoping I was going to make it. I haven't seen rain like that since I lived in OKC. (At least in OKC you could see the storms coming and they had pinpoint accuracy on predicting severe weather, but I digress).

The windshield wipers were useless. Want to appreciate being alive ? Drive through a full blown hail/rain storm with micro downbursts in an Alberta summer storm with a convertible that weighs half as much as the average car. Sunny, hailing, windy, lightning and thunder (the kind you feel in your bones as it strikes within 1/4 mile of you) all at the same time. Great move Steve. Can't stop now.

It's 7:52, I've finished my supper and the thunder is still rumbling - but it's sunny from the west and the rainbow is coming out. Looks like the satellite signal is coming back.

But wait another minute and the weather will ...