Why There is No T13 This Week

Sorry there is no Thursday Thirteen this week. I meant to post something last night when I got home from Concert on the Square, but...well—Mother Nature had other plans for us yesterday. After about a month without a single drop of rain, we woke early Wednesday morning to not only the sound of rain, but thunder. It was awesome! I dozed in bed listening to it until the alarm went off. We had about an inch of rain over two hours. Because it has been so dry there were also flash flood warnings, the ground being too arid to soak it up.

As has been the norm this summer, it did not take us long to heat up to 90F Wednesday (a bit above normal). After work, I headed uptown to stake out a spot for the evening's concert. I had a good one, too, where we were not only shaded but could see the orchestra. HAD. Mid-afternoon, a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for all of Southern Wisconsin until 8pm. Much as we need the rain, I was hoping it would miss us, or at the very least hold off until after the concert—or at least the first half of the concert—but did not have a good feeling about the night, especially as clouds started piling up against the Capitol. It was hot and humid, and there was something in how heavy the air felt that made one uneasy. 

Just before 6pm they announced that the watch was now a warning, and it looked like a storm was headed our way. They were keeping an eye on things and would make a final decision by 6:30. In the meantime, we were to enjoy the sound check as it might be all we got to hear. The special guests for the night were a duo with a Simon & Garfunkel tribute. Judging by the size of the crowd on such a muggy evening, I wasn't the only one looking forward to it. From what I heard during the soundtrack, they are really good.

At 6:10pm, I left my backpack and beach towel to save our place, and went to meet a friend who was bringing our chairs with her when she got off work. (And no, I wasn't worried about leaving belongings unattended amongst a bunch of strangers. This is how it works. Starting at 3pm, you can set out your blankets, towels and chairs, and no one will steal them. However, I am not foolish enough to leave anything of value in said bag. Camera and wallet were on me.)

At 6:20pm, the announcement came that there was a severe storm headed right towards us and that we might want to run for cover now. I deliberated for a minute over waiting until friend arrived and going back to retrieve my stuff—took one look at the sky and figured, if she did not see me, she would wait at our pre-designated spot at least a few minutes before abandoning me to the elements. I made the round-trip jaunt in no time, and friend was just exiting onto the Square when I returned to our meeting point. It then took more than half hour to exit the ramp.

Thankfully, most people understood how serious the situation was, and that it would take a while to evacuate 150,000 people from the Capitol Square. The one glaring exception was the idiot directly behind us in line to get out. Yeah, you buddy. The jerk who kept laying on his horn as we waited for a break in traffic. By that time the rain was a torrential down pour, making for low visibility and some fog as the cold water met steamy air. There was also some flooding in streets. We were exiting onto a two-lane, one-way street—and no one wanted to stop to let a car or two out of the ramp. After more than five minutes, someone finally took pity on us and allowed us to merge into traffic. I hope it took the idiot with the horn twice as long.

It was an interesting trip home. We took W. Washington to Park Street, and from that intersection down to Fish Hatchery there were sections where you had to go slow to avoid hydroplaning. Even then there was one point where the spray of water was as high as the car. Thankfully, it wasn't deep enough to prevent us from moving forward, and people were smart enough to slow down and not tailgate. There were a few streets where flooding was so bad, blocks were temporarily shut down until water had dissipated. And did I mention the flashes of lightning all around? Being low on gas and not wanting to get caught on the side of the highway in such weather, we stopped for gas at a station near Fish Hatch and the Beltline. Just as we were pulling out again, we saw a wicked cloud to ground lightning strike. Eek! Thankfully, I don't think it hit anything.

By the time friend dropped me off, it was after 7:30pm. The rain was already easing up a bit, but thunder and lightning continued until late into the night, and some communities saw more light showers before morning. Some areas reported golf ball size hail, others damaging winds of 60-70 mph. About 4000 people across the area were without power during the night, as the winds brought down trees and power lines. All told we had about 1.75 inches of rain yesterday—still a good five inches below normal.

Sadly, the rain came too late for some area farmers, mostly those growing corn. Many across the southern portion of the state were out chopping down their pitiful crop this week, so as to salvage what they could for cattle feed. Because we did not get the necessary moisture needed for pollination, corn stalks are not only half the height they should be, but have no ears of corn. If we continue to get rain the rest of the summer, other crops such as soy beans and alfalfa may survive, though they won't be as bountiful as previous years.

Today has been heavily overcast, which seems so strange after weeks of relentless sun and record temperatures. Today's high is only supposed to be mid-70s, the coolest day of the week as we head back up into the 90s for the weekend. Ugh! I am so tired of the heat already—and we still have the rest of July and all of August to get through. Whimper. . .