(no subject)
I was driving home round 11:00 this evening from the Shakespeare Tavern (where I met Michael's very nice girlfriend :)). I tried to go down 85, but it was backed up, so I opted to drive down Ponce rather than sit in the bizarrely stopped up traffic. Down Ponce I go, dodging crazy drivers in the skinny lanes, when I notice the significant lightning activity ahead. I shrugged -- I always enjoy a good storm -- and drove on. A few drops hit my windshield, and then a few more, and it started raining steadily... and then the sky opened up... and then the power in the buildings around me went off. Lightning was all around, and it hit ground what was probably about a mile from me. The rain is falling so hard I can't see, and the wind is sideways. Now, I've driven through many storms, but never, ever, anything like this. I'm afraid to stop, because the way the wind is swirling around me feels vaguely tornado-ish. I called poor Mat and hyperventilated into the phone, and fortunately he kept me mostly calm, and I kept driving. People all around me were stopping in the middle of intersections, because it was so dark you couldn't really see where you were. Fortunately, I know that road very well, so I just crept along, the wind and the rain and the lightning all around me, until it slowed, and thank goodness, it was over.
Spent the rest of the drive shaking. Words cannot even begin to describe how severe that little storm cell was. Trees were down all over the road as I passed through the areas the storm had been, and there were downed powerlines sparking in the streets.
Now I'm extremely tense, and my hands ache from having gripped the steering wheel so hard all the way home. :p