Yesterday afternoon we started getting some of the clouds and rain, along with a bit of a breeze, from what has become Tropical Storm Lee. This morning when I went to the clothesline to hang out laundry I saw the most beautiful blue sky, with little wisps of clouds moving quickly from east to west. When the wind blew I could hear the drought-parched leaves rustling on the big oak tree in my neighbor’s yard.
It’s middle of the afternoon now, and since this morning, it has been mostly sunny with thicker clouds at times. It’s the “at times” that I like about this. If you look at a satellite view of a tropical storm or hurricane, you will see how the clouds swirl around the edges. It’s pretty on the satellite view and unique in experience, because there will be rain and thunder and lightning and wind but none of it is constant. It gets mixed in with sunshine. And how much of all that one gets depends on how close you are to the storm and which side of it you are on. We are on the west side of Lee, so it’s not nearly as rainy as we would like. (Poor Louisiana is going to be drenched!)
This is how folks used to know there was a hurricane or tropical storm nearby. They didn’t have a meteorologist, so they had to pay close attention to things like wind direction and intermittent clouds and rain. Several years ago, we had a bit of that from Hurricane Katrina. A few days later, I spoke with someone who hadn’t even noticed what our weather was doing. I find that stunning.
Sometimes I almost wish I could live outside, or at least without air conditioning. My eyes can see through the windows, but I can’t feel breezes or smell rain. I may just have to go sit on the porch a while.
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