storms at the beach & a storm at my home

Sandcastle masterpiece.

Singer Island, Florida

The work of Walter, Lucy, and Erika.

Boys emerging from the sea.

Amanda.

We were expecting torrential rain by lunchtime, and it appeared right on time.

We got it a good 2 hours, though.

Notice the clouds and the gray color of the water.

The boys.

The ominous clouds were moving in.

We had a lot to gather up and get home, but we made it.

PJ is a church friend who went with us.

Everybody had a lot to carry.

We made it home before the storm hit and served lunch outside by the pool.

Normally, we would have had lunch on the beach, but not on this day.

Afternoon naps were wonderful, listening to the storm.

Let's talk about storms, though.

Monday, I went down to Savannah Beach.

It was a beautiful day, but strong storms were forecast.

Driving home, I saw the clouds.

They were building to the west, where I was headed.

I made it to the entrance of my neighborhood.

The wind came out of nowhere in cyclonic swirls.

The trees were twisting wildly.

I arrived at my house and entered the garage before the sparks started to fly.

Lightning and thunder were loud and close.

Then, the rain started to fall by the bucketful.

When I got into the house, my lights were flickering on and off repeatedly.

Finally, just as suddenly as it started, it was over.

The lights went off.

I was left with no power.

Even my phone was not working.

Laroche Ave is the road that leads to my house.

It is situated beside the marsh, with numerous oak tree limbs overhanging the road.

The mini tornado cell took down many limbs and power lines in a tiny area,

knocked out the power,

 and made the road impassable.

I had just passed through seconds before when the storm hit.

Later, when I walked outside, I found trash cans blown over and trash scattered everywhere.

I could hear the roar of the tools clearing the road.

Debris from the trees was everywhere.

Unexpected.

Very Scary.

But no major damage,

no one hurt.

When I went to bed to read by flashlight, the power was still out.

When I woke up the next morning, it had come back on.

Thank you, Lord, for keeping me and my neighbors safe...

and for making it possible to have a cup of fresh-brewed coffee.

Storms!

Nature's fury!

The closest I've ever been to one like that.