(no subject)
Summer is being run out of town.
It's been a hot summer, and at times a turbulent and restless one. Today was no exception. The air was muggy and a gusty wind was blowing from the south as the sun set. It was the kind of evening when you could tell something was going to happen. In the fading evening light, a line of clouds to the west betrayed the truth... there was a storm on the way, and not a scattered afternoon thunderstorm or a warm front full of drizzle. A line of clouds like that means big changes are on the way.
After seeing some distant lightning I walked down to Battery Park. As the south wind swirled around me, I stood on the hill near the old cannon and looked to the west. Sure enough, the western sky was lit up again and again by distant lightning. The storm was behind the High Peaks of the Adirondacks still, and each flash lit up a sillhouette of the ridgetops, on a backdrop of streamers of rain.
This storm was moving fast and it wasn't long before the lights across the lake in New York were blurred with rain. Soon the storm moved over the lake and lightning started pounding the water. It was time to leave the park. As I walked across the park the trees were lit up again and again by lightning.
I sat on my porch to watch the rest of the storm pass by. The rain started with a few big drops, as it always does with storms like this, and quickly transitioned to a wind-driven deluge. For a time, the south wind blew the rain in sheets. Cold fronts come with a wind shift, and the warm south wind is usually replaced by winds from the northwest. This storm was no exception, and the frontal passage was very dramatic... a gust of wind that sounded somehow different from the other gusts, almost 'hollow', perhaps due to rising air. The rain paused for a second and lightning flashed almost directly above. The next gust of wind was from the north, and this wind started driving rain under the balcony to the place I was sitting.
An hour ago the south wind had raised the temperature to 78 degrees at 10:54 PM - fairly impressive since the high temperature earlier in the day was only 81. At 11:54 PM, the airport reported a temperature of 70 degrees, with a heavy thunderstorm and wind gusting to 39 miles per hour. 0.3 inches of rain had fallen. Right now my thermometer says it is 68.7 degrees out but it is probably a bit colder at the airport.
This may end up being the last gasp of summer here in Vermont. A series of cold fronts like this one will continue to run through the area all fall, like they always do (though most won't have lightning). It probably won't be over 80 degrees again for a while, though.
It's been a long summer, with seemingly endless heat and humidity. It hasn't been the easiest summer either. I entered into it recovering from illness, only to have infected Becca with Mono while I was away. I struggled with homesickness for vermont, loneliness due to my friends being far away, the difficulty of a long distance relationship, and the passing of my grandfather who was and continues to be very important to me. My time in Pittsburgh was productive and I grew a lot from the experience of being there, and learned a great deal of things, related to my project but also to what I want out of life. It was an important summer, but it wasn't easy. For some reason, most of my difficult times seem to come during summer and early fall (though the Cactus and Lava month was in February)...
I'm VERY ready for Fall. Right now I am cheering for the cold air (which of course will win out much more often than not for the next few months) and ready for renewal. The rain is tapering off right now but cold air is filtering into my window.
Here's to a crisp, beautiful fall and a snowy winter that will make me glad to see the heat again.
It's been a hot summer, and at times a turbulent and restless one. Today was no exception. The air was muggy and a gusty wind was blowing from the south as the sun set. It was the kind of evening when you could tell something was going to happen. In the fading evening light, a line of clouds to the west betrayed the truth... there was a storm on the way, and not a scattered afternoon thunderstorm or a warm front full of drizzle. A line of clouds like that means big changes are on the way.
After seeing some distant lightning I walked down to Battery Park. As the south wind swirled around me, I stood on the hill near the old cannon and looked to the west. Sure enough, the western sky was lit up again and again by distant lightning. The storm was behind the High Peaks of the Adirondacks still, and each flash lit up a sillhouette of the ridgetops, on a backdrop of streamers of rain.
This storm was moving fast and it wasn't long before the lights across the lake in New York were blurred with rain. Soon the storm moved over the lake and lightning started pounding the water. It was time to leave the park. As I walked across the park the trees were lit up again and again by lightning.
I sat on my porch to watch the rest of the storm pass by. The rain started with a few big drops, as it always does with storms like this, and quickly transitioned to a wind-driven deluge. For a time, the south wind blew the rain in sheets. Cold fronts come with a wind shift, and the warm south wind is usually replaced by winds from the northwest. This storm was no exception, and the frontal passage was very dramatic... a gust of wind that sounded somehow different from the other gusts, almost 'hollow', perhaps due to rising air. The rain paused for a second and lightning flashed almost directly above. The next gust of wind was from the north, and this wind started driving rain under the balcony to the place I was sitting.
An hour ago the south wind had raised the temperature to 78 degrees at 10:54 PM - fairly impressive since the high temperature earlier in the day was only 81. At 11:54 PM, the airport reported a temperature of 70 degrees, with a heavy thunderstorm and wind gusting to 39 miles per hour. 0.3 inches of rain had fallen. Right now my thermometer says it is 68.7 degrees out but it is probably a bit colder at the airport.
This may end up being the last gasp of summer here in Vermont. A series of cold fronts like this one will continue to run through the area all fall, like they always do (though most won't have lightning). It probably won't be over 80 degrees again for a while, though.
It's been a long summer, with seemingly endless heat and humidity. It hasn't been the easiest summer either. I entered into it recovering from illness, only to have infected Becca with Mono while I was away. I struggled with homesickness for vermont, loneliness due to my friends being far away, the difficulty of a long distance relationship, and the passing of my grandfather who was and continues to be very important to me. My time in Pittsburgh was productive and I grew a lot from the experience of being there, and learned a great deal of things, related to my project but also to what I want out of life. It was an important summer, but it wasn't easy. For some reason, most of my difficult times seem to come during summer and early fall (though the Cactus and Lava month was in February)...
I'm VERY ready for Fall. Right now I am cheering for the cold air (which of course will win out much more often than not for the next few months) and ready for renewal. The rain is tapering off right now but cold air is filtering into my window.
Here's to a crisp, beautiful fall and a snowy winter that will make me glad to see the heat again.