(copy from journal - crazy thunderstorm today)
Terrible Storm
I'm going to try to make this brief because our power continues to brown out and flicker off momentarily. We're in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Squall after squall has been moving in off of the Gulf and pounding the Tampa Bay Area with as much as 1.5 feet of rain so far. This is on par with hurricane rainfall and nowhere near what we normally receive. Some areas will easily see 2 feet before it's done. A Bath and Body Works in St. Pete lost it's roof to utter collapse earlier this morning only after a half foot or so of water. Roads are flooded everywhere and there is constant lightning. The thunder is so loud, it's been shaking the entire building for hours now. It feels like what I imagine an earthquake to feel like. Rumbling the entire structure and within your chest.
Our rain is normally a short burst thing. Ten or fifteen minutes followed by sunshine. Not so today. It'll easily make an all-time record rainfall for today's date. Love was stuck in the storm this morning, making his 15 minute drive in almost an hour. Looking out my window, the parking lot is full of water and some of the grassy areas between the buildings now have small ponds where there were none before.
I can't describe the force of the thunder and lightning today. Since around 7:30am, it's just been relentless. It really feels like it's hurricane season, not February!
Anyway, there's a lot of flooding and flood-related damage around here today. I'm sure tomorrow will bring news of sinkholes and damage. Poor Love still has to get home in all of this and they're saying it'll be another few hours at least before we even see a pause in the storm.
So deluge in the Tampa Bay Area. Anyone near or coming to this area, wait until tomorrow if possible. If you have to go out, take extreme caution. They are strongly advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Just stay home.
Crazy, crazy storm.
I'm going to try to make this brief because our power continues to brown out and flicker off momentarily. We're in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Squall after squall has been moving in off of the Gulf and pounding the Tampa Bay Area with as much as 1.5 feet of rain so far. This is on par with hurricane rainfall and nowhere near what we normally receive. Some areas will easily see 2 feet before it's done. A Bath and Body Works in St. Pete lost it's roof to utter collapse earlier this morning only after a half foot or so of water. Roads are flooded everywhere and there is constant lightning. The thunder is so loud, it's been shaking the entire building for hours now. It feels like what I imagine an earthquake to feel like. Rumbling the entire structure and within your chest.
Our rain is normally a short burst thing. Ten or fifteen minutes followed by sunshine. Not so today. It'll easily make an all-time record rainfall for today's date. Love was stuck in the storm this morning, making his 15 minute drive in almost an hour. Looking out my window, the parking lot is full of water and some of the grassy areas between the buildings now have small ponds where there were none before.
I can't describe the force of the thunder and lightning today. Since around 7:30am, it's just been relentless. It really feels like it's hurricane season, not February!
Anyway, there's a lot of flooding and flood-related damage around here today. I'm sure tomorrow will bring news of sinkholes and damage. Poor Love still has to get home in all of this and they're saying it'll be another few hours at least before we even see a pause in the storm.
So deluge in the Tampa Bay Area. Anyone near or coming to this area, wait until tomorrow if possible. If you have to go out, take extreme caution. They are strongly advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Just stay home.
Crazy, crazy storm.