Thunder, lightning, howling wind… and the lights went out!

The windows were open.

imageWe had just checked the weather online.  Our county was under a severe thunderstorm warning.  A potent line of thunderstorms ahead of an advancing cold front was moving in our direction.  One warning reported winds as high as 70 miles per hour were possible near thunderstorms.

We started hearing thunder. Lightning flashed.  Wind picked up quickly and began to howl.

To keep the coming rain out, Karen, sitting at her computer, stood up and closed the window in front of her… and the lights went out.

Time to get the flashlights  and LED lantern out.

It was 9:45 PM or so and very dark.  The worst of the storm passed by very quickly, though it rained heavily for a while.  We decided not to run the generator as it was almost bedtime, assuming that power would be back by the time we got up in the morning.

It wasn’t.

The generator was on and supplying power for about 4 hours this morning before power restoration, a little over 12 hours after we lost it.

We were luckier than some.  I took a short drive this morning to see if I could spot why our power was still out.  I saw a number of trees toppled and snapped, including a big pine that landed on the corner of a house.

arkansas, entergy, landscape, mountains, photography, spring, weather

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  • Rummuser Apr 14, 2014 Link

    I am glad that you are safe and that you escaped the worst. Trees falling on electric lines or on parked cars and other vehicles besides old houses and causing damage are regular features during our monsoon. We do not get other storms bar the occasional thunder and lightening storms in the summer which do not cause much damage.
    Rummuser recently posted…Dakshina Dvaraka. What An Evening!My Profile

    • Mike Apr 14, 2014 Link

      Thanks. Unfortunately, we do experience a somewhat wide variety of weather here at times. In 2009, we even had to deal with the remnants of two hurricanes that had been downgraded to tropical depressions — and we are several hundred miles from the coast.

      With this cold front, we are supposed have temperatures falling below freezing tonight and again tomorrow — rather late in the year for that.

  • Cheerful Monk Apr 15, 2014 Link

    Storms like that are scary — I’m glad it wasn’t worse for you. Good for you for having the generator.
    Cheerful Monk recently posted…The SnailMy Profile

    • Mike Apr 15, 2014 Link

      It was actually past us too fast to be very worrisome.

      And it looks like we dodged another weather bullet. We were in a freeze warning, but it didn’t quite get down to that up here on the ridge.

  • Alan G Apr 15, 2014 Link

    Glad you folks weathered the storm without any damage. Also glad the power wasn’t disrupted to badly. Nothing at all to report from down here. Street flooding in some areas but nothing close to me.

    Certainly a tad bit chilly this morning but no freezing issues. Hope the farmer’s fared as well.
    Alan G recently posted…Movie Review – “Man of Steel” (2013)My Profile

    • Mike Apr 15, 2014 Link

      Yeah. One good thing about this colder than normal weather is that the severe weather season seems to have been delayed.

  • Grannymar Apr 16, 2014 Link

    Can you blame the Orange sun?

    • Mike Apr 16, 2014 Link

      I’m not sure I understand the context of your question. 😉

  • Hilary Apr 16, 2014 Link

    Hi Mike – I’m just glad it was a bad storm, and no worse – though losing power is a pain – but you always seem to be well prepared and that’s the main thing ..
    Also thank goodness that a tree didn’t catch your house …

    Have a peaceful Easter – Hilary
    Hilary recently posted…N is for Nature Study and Naturalists …My Profile

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