It was kind of like a surprise party, but not.

Another round of severe storms blew through yesterday.  Ah, spring time in the south. :)


Not long before the boys' bedtime, we watched the radar carefully as a storm worthy of a tornado warning passed by just a few miles north of us.  It looked pretty ugly both on the computer and on the horizon, but once it was gone, things looked all clear.


After the boys were in bed we watched a live online news feed for our favorite Arkansas station.  Having lived there 4 years and with family still there now (not to mention a few blog buddies - Hi y'all!), we are always interested in the weather happenings up that way.


We finally got tired of living vicariously through other people's thunderstorms and went to bed.


Not long after drifting off to sleep, I was awakened by thunder, and surprised to find us under a new thunderstorm warning.  The warning stated up to golf ball size hail and 60 mph winds.  The warnings always say something like that, and we all we ever get is lots of lightening, some big gusts of wind, and lots of rain.  So I went back to bed.  


And a few minutes later, a quiet -ping.  Followed by -ping, ping. And -ping, ping, Ping!


Hail!

Hail that was quickly getting bigger, and bigger, and falling faster and faster.  When chunks the size of walnuts started falling, I started to worry about the garden.


When chunks the size of golf balls started falling, I started to worry about everything else!

I don't know how long the hailstorm lasted, but it was very LOUD.  And the ground was very WHITE.  The ground is littered with leaves.  The hood of Greg's vehicle is covered in little dents.  The plastic covers on the roof of our camper are shattered.  

And our garden... our poor garden.  I am hopeful the majority of the plants will recover.


All of this just goes to prove I was right earlier in the evening: the excitement of a storm is all well and good until it gets a little too close for comfort.  And I felt a good bit sheepish for being even a tiny bit disappointed when it all passed over with barely a sprinkle earlier.  

Still, Greg and I do love the excitement of thunderstorms.  We have said that when he retires and our kids are grown we will be storm chasers.  Of course, by then we'll probably be taking care of grandkids and aging parents, but we'll take that as it comes.

In the meantime, we enjoy watching the weather as it comes our way, whatever the weather may be.  


And yes, there are hailstones in my freezer right now. :) 


P.S. One other casualty of the aftermath of the hailstorm: my camera!  Outside taking pictures of all the hail, my hands were full of towels and a flashlight, and the wrist strap slipped off my wrist.  The camera hit the concrete and hasn't been the same since.  I have more hope for the tomatoes recovering than I do the camera, but I'm not ready to give up quite yet!