I was outside doing the evening chores when i heard a familiar noise; thunder. It’s been a while since we’ve had rain and so though the noise was familiar i’d forgotten that anxious feeling that it induces, as if suddenly you need to secure any outdoor furniture, park the car under the cover of trees and on high ground, close all the windows, potty the dogs and bring them inside, unplug the internet and the dog fence, and gather everything you need access to from the shed before the weather arrives. I heard the noise again and again and again. Distant but constant thunder. To the east of me i could see what was clearly rain of some sort but did not have the look or structure of a system that was going to be fast and furious as it ripped through. I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed. It seemed to be announcing its presence but in a subtle and gradual way.
The forecast listed a 10 percent chance of rain. It looked very impressive on the radar. One round formation with a huge red cell in the middle that quickly turned purple. However, it was slow moving and tracking just south of us. By the time it scooted underneath us the impressive purple center had turned to blue and the rest of it had melted into green. The thing had rained itself out and lost all its vim and vigor over the nearby town of Bandera. They got golf ball sized hail and 60 mph winds. I hope they got a good amount of rainfall as during this fire season wetness anywhere is a win. It just wasn’t our turn.