Arriving back in Columbia Monday evening, we found ourselves enveloped in soupy, tropical air; it seemed we had taken a wrong turn on our way back from Colorado and had ended up in the Amazon Basin. Later that night, lightning flashed along the western horizon, promising the relief of thunderstorms and, in their wake, cooler and drier air.
Within an hour of going to bed, I was awakened by fierce winds, whipping the trees in our neighborhood and lashing the windows with torrents of rain. As the lightning and thunder became more intense, a loud roar passed overhead, as if a jet had taken off to our southwest and was climbing toward the northeast. Checking the alarm clock, I found that our power was out and it has remained so for the past 36 hours; indeed, we anticipate another 24-36 hours before electric service is restored.
On the morning after the storm (declared a severe thunderstorm by the weather service but likely involving a weak tornado in my opinion), tree limbs and massive trunks, lay across roads, lawns and roofs; fortunately, damage was relatively minor and no serious injuries were reported. Nevertheless, we have been "inconvenienced" by nature's wrath, learning to live without air conditioning, hot water, refrigeration, the internet and cable TV for several days; in a way, the storm has brought a refreshing change to our lives.
