Thinking Of Cascade Mountain Drive After Night Of Texas Thunderstorms

I saw that which you see here, this 3rd November morning, on Facebook. A look at some mountain scenery on Highway 20, on the last day of the previous month of October.

Highway 20 is a road which traverses through the valley in which I lived prior to moving to Texas, traversing from Anacortes, through the town I grew up in, Burlington, and on east, through North Cascades National Park, before making its way to Eastern Washington.

At my current location I could drive hundreds of miles in any direction and not find any snow-covered mountains.

At my current location, Wichita Falls, Texas, last night, I got to experience one of the wildest storms I have ever experienced. Rain began pouring down about an hour before midnight. And then from midnight on, til daylight, almost nonstop lightning lit up the night and disturbed the possibility of sleep with booming thunder.

A few miles north, across the Red River, in Oklahoma, last night's storm produced multiple tornadoes

Thunderstorming and heavy rain is currently scheduled to start up again in about an hour. 

I currently do not know if my regular outdoor endorphin inducing aerobic activity is going to be doable, due to weather woes, requiring walking in Walmart, instead, which never is even remotely aerobic....

Third Day Of Spring Thunderous Storm Arrives In Wichita Falls As Predicted

Arriving right on time, as scheduled by the National Weather Service. An epic thunderstorm, dropping a downpour of rain, hail and lightning strikes. With a lot of loud booming.

The view you see here is what I saw upon opening my front door. Impossible to get to ground level without getting drenched and pummeled with hail pellets.

Right now the storm seems to be abating as quickly as it arrived. 

If I make it to ground level I don't know if currently a moat is making it difficult to get to my means of motorized motion.

I shall soon see. Maybe...

Friday Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Wichita Falls

In yoga mode, listening to the radio, minutes ago the Emergency Warning noise interrupted with a Severe Thunderstorm warning, with strong wind, half dollar size hail, tornado potential, flash flooding. The warning advised those in the affected area to get to a ground level location, away from windows.

I stopped with the yoga and woke up my computer to see the Severe Thunderstorm Watch warning you see above.

So far, just a little rain, distant thunder booms, dark clouds, little wind.

I am one level above ground level, currently, and near a window...

A Sikes Lake Late Afternoon Thunderstorm Drenching

Late yesterday afternoon I rolled out under a threatening sky and had my bike take me to Sikes Lake. Those clouds you see on the west side of the lake were sparking lightning bolts, along with a constant drumbeat of thunder.

To the left of my handlebars, also known as south, there was a massive gray wall of clouds. I figured I could get in a bike ride before any of these cloud formations made it to my location.

I figured wrong.

The second time around Sikes Lake I started feeling water. I thought it was my water bottle splashing, with the wind carrying the splash and hitting me.

I thought wrong.

Soon there was no denying that I was being pelted by big raindrops. I switched modes to making a beeline for home mode, pedaling as fast as I can.

When I started pedaling fast I was a little under two miles from being under cover.

I was pretty much soaking wet by the time I made it to that aforementioned under cover location.

Today a heavy thunderstorm is predicted for this afternoon. I think I will go hiking the Wichita Bluff Nature Area this morning...

Thunderstorm Downpour Nixes Sunday's Wichita Falls Bike Ride

Anticipating a long bike ride this Sunday morning, when I checked the weather forecast I was pleased to see nothing wet or booming was on the menu for the time frame I expected to be rolling my wheels.

But, despite the forecast and what was on the weather menu, the sky this morning looked threatening from the time the sun began illuminating.

And then sometime around ten I heard booming in the distance, which grew louder as the minutes passed.

A unexpected, unpredicted, unwanted thunderstorm had come to town.

Eventually I opted to sit outside to watch from my patio venue the lightning striking in the distance.

As time passed the lightning grew ever closer and the booming ever louder.

And then one bright strike and simultaneous boom, along with a downpour, caused me to seek interior shelter.

I retreated to the location of my camera to retrieve it and then returned to the patio exit, sliding open the door to take the deluging photo you see above.

Until the rain ceases and drainage occurs I am now surrounded by a moat, whose passage past requires a floating device or getting wet wading.

I have a floating device in the form  of a  kayak, but I enjoy wading.  I do not know which means I will use should I decide to escape before the moat subsides...

Midnight Thunderstorm Followed By Texas Flintstones This Morning

Last night, at some point around the midnight time frame, bright flashes of light began to disturb my peaceful slumber.

Thinking the bright flashes of light might be an un-predicted thunderstorm I removed the earplugs which I use to block any annoying noises and soon heard booms of thunder rolling in from the distance.

Ironically I do not like unwanted annoying noises, yet I find the sounds of a storm to be soothing.

Soon I was soothed by thunder booming quite close to home, along with rain pounding my windows, with hail in the mix. And then the wind arrived.

I anticipated hearing the tornado sirens, but that sound did not join the cacophony.

I do not know how long last night's storm lasted. I must have passed out during the storm, hence not knowing how long it lasted. By morning a totally blue sky had arrived and the only reminder of last night's storm was puddles of water. That and my patio furniture was still wet when I sat outside to enjoy my morning coffee libation.

About 12 hours after the arrival of last night's storm I left my abode to inspect the damage and to see if Holliday Creek had been turned into a raging torrent.

Upon Holliday Creek coming into view I quickly saw the water was not moving in raging torrent mode. Looking to the east side of the Holliday Creek Gorge I saw that which you see above.

What looked to be vehicles of the Flintstone sort motoring on the expanse of green grass which extends for what seems to be miles on the side of Holliday Creek opposite the Wichita Falls Circle Trail. The Flintstone cars motor for a short distance and then the Fred and Barneys driving the Flintstone cars stop, get out of their cars, swing a stick, and then start driving again. It seems to be a primitive stone age type behavior to my modern era eyes.

Last night's wicked storm was not predicted. However severe storms are on the prediction menu for the next several days.  More often than not the predicted storms do not seem to arrive as predicted at my current location.

I suspect that will not be the case this time, so I am prepared to batten down the hatches on a moment's, or a  tornado siren's, notice....                    

Thunderstorming Thursday In Texas While I Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee Again

On the left you are looking west through the bars of my patio prison cell at what appears to be a threatening sky.

The sky appears to be threatening because it is being threatening. Threatening to send lightning bolts to the ground, along with downpouring rain.

The sun had yet to arrive this morning when I detected a brief flash of light. Many seconds later I heard a distant boom.

By the time of my regularly scheduled morning swim arrived I was counting 10 to 15 seconds between flashes and booms, so I felt fairly safe from a zapping.

Soon after getting wet big drops of rain started plopping into the pool. I like swimming in the rain when the rain is not in big drops mode. I  was not enjoying swimming in the rain this morning.

After I saw a flash and counted only 5 seconds before I heard a boom I decided to get out of the pool.

Changing the subject to something else.

I just glanced over at my second monitor to see incoming email coming in, one of which in the subject line says "Martha looks 20 years younger. Did she get a face lift?"

Are we talking about Nurse Martha here? If Nurse Martha looked 20 years younger she'd look like a teenager.

Changing the subject again.

I had planned to go walk with Arlington's Indian Ghosts today, prior to going to ALDI. However, stormy weather may alter that plan.

Speaking of Indian Ghosts, yesterday I started re-reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown. If you have never read this book you really should.

An Aborted Gateway Park Bike Ride Before Treasure Hunting At Town Talk

On the left you are looking out my computer room window through a pane of glass dripping water from today's eagerly anticipated downpour which tardily arrived a short while before four on this Ides of March Saturday afternoon.

A few minutes ago I saw my computer based weather monitoring device turn red, so I clicked it and learned that currently we are being advised to watch for a severe thunderstorm.

A few seconds after getting the watch for a severe thunderstorm notification I heard my first boom of thunder. As of right now, that one clap is the only clap I have heard so far.

Prior to the predicted precipitation precipitating I was preparing to go for my second swim of the day. That particular preparation has now been aborted. My second aborted plan of the day.

Computer Based Weather Information

Around noon when I left my abode to drive my mechanized mobile device to Gateway Park to pedal my non-mechanized mobile device on the mountain bike trail drops of rain were moistening the windshield. The rain was not falling anywhere close to downpour mode, but nonetheless I assumed it might whilst finding myself on a dirt trail turning into mud.

So, I aborted today's mountain bike ride and continued on to Town Talk.

As it turned out, during the time frame allotted for a bike ride the rain never fell in amounts copious enough to have ruined a pleasant bike ride.

I guess I did what is known as erring on the side of caution. Better that than have bike tires with three inches of clay-like mud stuck to them.

Town Talk treasure hunting was a success today. Orange peppers, a big box of frozen shrimp, dozens of bananas, jalapeno bacon, chick peas, rice and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

Unlike the past three Saturdays, today Town Talk was not suffering from a jammed parking lot and long checkout lines.

Just got a text message from Elsie Hotpepper asking if I want to go see a Dud and a Prince tonight. I have no idea what this means, except that somehow wildcatting is involved....

A Dry Saturday Gateway Park Mountain Bike Ride Before Getting Wet In A Thunderstorm

In the pool this morning looking up at the cloudy sky was a bit dizzying, with the wind blowing a lower level of wispy clouds at a high speed, whilst a thicker layer of clouds, at a higher level, seemed to be moving in the opposite direction.

I assumed the confused cloud movement was an optical illusion.

By the time this Saturday morning when the time came to roll my motorized wheels to Gateway Park for my regularly scheduled rolling of my non-motorized wheels, a  few drips of wetness had made it to earth.

I'd decided to take the extreme risk that I might find myself rolling my wheels in a downpour and opted to stick with the mountain bike ride plan.

That extreme risk turned out not to be risky. No drippage fell on me or the trails while I was rolling.

As you can see via the view from my regularly scheduled Gateway Park photo op location, we are seeing some stormy skies today in North Texas.

After I concluded a dry, but rather humid, mountain bike trail tour I continued on to Town Talk were  I got myself a couple dozen Chiquita  bananas, along with some other good stuff.

When I exited Town Talk the sky was looking very stormy to the north, but much brighter heading east, which is the direction of my abode. When I got a clear view to the north I saw a very dark wall cloud which reminded me of the tornado wall cloud I saw way back in the year 2000 when I was heading to downtown Fort Worth. That day I was not long on the road before I got a call telling me not to come to downtown Fort Worth, that tornadoes were touching down.

So far, today, I have heard no tornado sirens.

But, as I made my way the 5 miles from Town Talk to my abode, what had been a bright view to the east had darkened. With about a mile to go I was driving in a downpour. Then I took a right to head south for a half a mile and left the rain. But it caught up to me again by the time I reached my parking spot. By the time I got under cover the downpour had reached my abode, along with thunderous thunder booming.

Currently the downpouring and thunderous booming has stopped. I suspect this is just a break with more rain and thunder to come.

A Texas Sized Downpour & Lightning Strikes Keep Me From Walking Around Fosdic Lake Today

I exited my abode at noon to head to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake so as to get some of my recommended daily salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic activity.

A small amount of precipitation was precipitating when I walked to my motorized vehicular transport.

As I headed west the 4 miles to Oakland Lake Park I saw lightning strikes in the distance.

The closer I got to Fosdic Lake the larger the amount of precipitation precipitating became.

By the time I got to the Oakland Lake Park eastern parking lot the rain had segued into heavy duty Texas-style downpour mode.

With lightning striking to the north of me, lightning striking to the south of me, lightning striking to the west of me.

I looked through my rain streaked windshield at Fosdic Lake, and its army of ducks, and decided it was likely not a good idea to wander around Fosdic Lake, under a bumbershoot, with lightning making random strikes.

So, on this very rare occasion, I let common sense get the better of me and bailed on dodging lightning bolts striking around Fosdic Lake.

Obviously I am now back under cover, in my abode, with the rain no longer falling. I think I am now in for the duration of the rest of today.

A Cold Front Arrives For The Last Day Of September & The First Day Of The State Fair Of Texas

As you can see in the picture the sun has begun its pre-dawn sky glowing process on this last day of September.

With today being Friday, September 30, over at Fair Park, in Dallas, the State Fair of Texas begins. That means I have til October 23 to make it over to Dallas for the state fair.

Had the State Fair of Texas opened yesterday it would have been one HOT first day of the state fair.

Yesterday we hit 100 for the 71st time in 2011, breaking the temperature record for September 29, which had been 99 degrees, set over a half century ago, in 1953. Yesterday was also the 4th latest 100 degree day. The latest it has ever reached 100 in this parched part of the planet was on October 3 of 1951.

Last night this parched part of the planet also had a thunderstorm. I saw a lot of lightning strikes and heard a lot of thunder rolling, but not much rain fell. Maybe more rain fell in other locations.

Last night's thunderstorm brought in a cold front, dropping the temperature last night. The lows for the next few days are scheduled to be in the 50s.

The sun is now providing sufficient illumination to allow me to find my way to the pool without needing a flashlight. So, I'm going swimming now.

Will Lightning Be Striking These Parched Parts Of Texas This Next To Last Thursday Of September?

In the picture I am looking out my primary viewing portal on the world, as the dawn of the next to last Thursday of September of 2011 arrives.

The outer world in my location is currently chilled to slightly below 70 degrees. The predicted high for today is only 79 degrees, with a 30% chance of thunderstorms.

A 30% chance usually means no chance in my experience.

This is how the Weather Underground describes our thunderstorm chances to today...

A few thunderstorms may affect areas south of Comanche to Killeen line through 8 am. Otherwise...only isolated showers are expected across North Texas. Rainfall will average less than 1/10th of an inch as this activity moves southeast at around 20 mph. Otherwise...a cold front that extended south of a Paris...Fort Worth...Breckenridge line at 6 am...will continue to move south at 15 mph. Light south winds will shift to the north at 5 to 15 mph as the front passes...and a few gusts over 20 mph are likely.

Changing the subject from the weather to killing people. I was still living in Washington on Sunday, June 7, 1998 when Lawrence Russell Brewer and another moron brutally murdered James Byrd Jr. out in East Texas in the town of Jasper. Last night Lawrence Russell Brewer got the well-deserved lethal needle down in Huntsville.

Due to incidents like the murder in Jasper, when I moved to Texas I feared I would be experiencing racism for the first time in my life. That fear turned out to not be grounded in reality. I don't think I've experienced, personally, anything remotely racist since I have been in Texas.

Well, it is time to go for my morning swim before it gets any windier and before those lightning strikes start striking.

May 24 Anticipating Texas Tornado Thunderstorms Washington Hooters & Kirstie Alley Winning Dancing With The Stars

I'm up early on this 24th day of May, with only one week to go in the month, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at the glowing cauldron of doom I call a hot tub.

According to the National Weather Service the conditions will be that today's storming could produce tornadoes.

The NWS says, "There's a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Some of today's storms could be severe as a strong upper-level disturbance comes into the area. The greatest threat will be hail, but the system could also spawn strong winds and tornadoes."

Something in the air is making my eyes slightly burn and water. I would have thought that yesterday's heavy duty storming, with almost 2 inches of rain, would have cleaned up the polluted local air, temporarily.

I was up unusually late last night, I think I was overstimulated by watching Kirstie Alley doing gymnastic routines, straining partner Maks's musculature to the limit, during her freestyle routine on last night's Dancing with the Stars finale.

My first couple hours of trying to sleep last night were interrupted by an amazing series of surreal nightmares. All I remember was waking up startled, over and over again.

Total change of subject from my nightmares to Hooters.

Before I moved to Texas I did not know that Hooters was an actual place with beer, hot wings and girls in hot pants. I thought Hooters was just a joke place that Al Bundy liked on Married With Children.

Well, imagine my surprise, this morning, when reading the Seattle P-I to learn that Washington spawned Hooters at some point in time after I moved to Texas. Apparently the Hooters have not done well in Washington. They have been closing without warning. Washington is now down to only 2 Hooters remaining. To get a Hooters hot wing, and view hot pants, you now have to go to Tacoma or Spokane.

I have yet to have been in a Hooters. I recollect the strip joint connoisseur, who calls himself Gar the Texan, wanting me to go to Hooters with him. I declined. The association in my mind with Al Bundy was just too strong. I'd not thought of it before, but Gar the Texan is very much like Al Bundy. Except for not being a shoe salesman or having a receding hairline.

Time to go swimming now before the incoming electric apocalypse.

Swimming In The Wind On The 4th Day Of April In Stormy Texas

Well. The 4th day of April has been a noisy one, so far. You can't hear the noise looking at the picture of one of my outdoor viewing platforms on the world.

Some point in time before 5 this morning I was startled out of a peaceful slumber by the concussive boom of thunder.

Thunder kept concussively booming for well over an hour, non-stop, flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder.

With heavy rain.

The heavy rain prompted the National Weather Service to issue what I believe to be its first flood advisory for Tarrant County this year.

Along with the rain and thunder it was very windy, with gusts up to 60 mph. It is still be windy out there.

I suspect there will be no Tandy Hill hiking for me today, due to wetness.

Speaking of Tandy Hill hiking, someone Anonymous made an amusing comment regarding me saying I was going to be leaving Texas. For some reason someone Anonymous repeated the comment 3 times.

Someone Anonymous said....

Say it ain't so, Durango. Your wit, your unapologetic criticism of the Fort Worth Way, fill a gaping void. Besides, where else could you go that would give you so much blogging material? Chicago, maybe, is more corrupt. But only because it's older. Somebody, find another hill for this man to climb!

Since I don't currently have a hill to climb, I think I will go swimming in the wind.

Noontime Thunder Rumbling Upon Return To Fort Worth From Virtual Trip To Oklahoma's Natural Falls

You're looking at the almost noon view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony. I was hoping to catch a bolt of lightning, but, though I heard thunder rumbling in the distance, I saw no bolts.

I did catch a few drops of rain. It was refreshing.

I had multiple reasons to not go swimming this morning.

Instead I got my cooling refreshment by going up to Oklahoma's Ozark Highlands Region, virtually, to feel the cooling mist from what used to be known as Dripping Springs Falls, but is now known as Natural Falls. Natural Falls falls is in Natural Falls State Park.

While altering all my Oklahoma webpages I came across a photo of something I saw years ago, in Oklahoma, that became blogging fodder for my Washington Blog.

I continue to hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

As you can see in the 7-Day Forecast, there are no 100 degrees days currently planned. And 4 nights under 70 are currently scheduled. The HEAT reduction has my brain less swelled up and thus working better. Or so it seems.

Up Before The Crack Of Dawn In Between Storms In Fort Worth

You are looking at the crack of dawn on the last Tuesday of June, from my bedroom balcony.

You would think you are looking at a blue sky, but you aren't.

For some photographic reason not understood by me, when I aimed the camera at the cloudy sky, with the sun just starting to light up the place, the picture turned out to be sort of black and blue.

The forecast is for more possible storming today.

Yesterday, early in the evening, about 7, it was raining hard. I thought the idea of going swimming in the rain sounded fun. And it was. Til the rain turned into heavy duty downpour mode. And then I started hearing thunder rumbling. Having been badly boomed by a ground zero lightning strike earlier in the day, I figured it was probably a good idea to get out of the stormy pool.

A rare thing happened last night. I stayed up til past midnight. I was afraid I was in for an insomnia night, but that didn't happen and, despite going to bed late, I got up before dawn cracked.

I have an inkling I am in for an interesting day. And don't ask me what's for lunch, because I don't know.

Monday On The Tandy Hills Listening To Traffic Noise & Mating Cicadas

As you can see, looking west from the Tandy Hills at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, it is cloudy here this last Monday of June.

So far, no rain has dropped.

I enjoyed the hill hiking very much today. For the most part. For some reason, the noise from the I-30 freeway seemed way louder than it usually does.

Maybe the cloud cover was bouncing the traffic noise back to earth today. There are locations in the Tandy Hills where usually I hear only the sounds of nature being natural in the Tandy Hills Natural Area. But today I heard traffic noises all over the hills.

It's the mating season for cicadas. It was only during heavy duty outbreaks of the cicada mating noises that the traffic noise was blocked out today.

I was also serenaded by mating cicadas while I was in the pool this morning.

A new noise is now assaulting my eardrum. I hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

Friday Afternoon Texas Thunder Booming

Around 3, this afternoon, thunder started booming again.

Last night's thunderstorm was the first in a long time. I don't remember the last time I heard Texas thunder boom two days in a row.

Due to a lot of trees, I do not have a very wide view of an incoming storm from inside my abode.

So, when the thunder started booming I went over to Miss Puerto Rico's balcony, hoping to get a picture of a lightning bolt.

But, while I continued to hear thunder booming, I saw no bolts. After about 10 minutes I gave up the hunt for an elusive lightning bolt.

But, as you can see from the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony, the sky was in stormy mode.

Now, an hour and a half later, coming up on 5, calm has returned. For now.

Middle Of November Sunday Storming In Texas

That's my stormy 4 in the afternoon view this mid-November Sunday in Texas. There has been some dripping, no hard rain. And, so far, none of the predicted thunderstorming.

I was in the pool this morning when the sky was relatively blue. And again about an hour ago when the sky was relatively not blue.

After the afternoon swimming I lounged on a lounge chair. Tootsie Tonasket called. I talked to Tootsie til little pinpricks of concentrated cold started hitting me.

I have convinced Tootsie Tonasket to start blogging. She has many tales to tell about the town she lives in in Eastern Washington and the characters who reside there. We'll see how that goes.

Earlier today, in anticipation of the expected incoming deluge, I went over to Miss Puerto Rico's to help her put a new cover on her jeep. That quickly turned into a boondoggle. Today I realized every time I've tried to help Miss Puerto Rico do something with her jeep it turns into a boondoggle. Today I really could not even tell what problem we were trying to solve.

So, that's been my Sunday in Texas. Possibly a tornado to top off the day.

Middle of the Night Thunderstorm in Fort Worth

No, that is not the dawn morning view from my patio door window.

That's not the sun coming up. It's a burst of light from a lightning strike. At 2 am, this morning.

In other words, it's been a rough night here in Cowtown. The thunderstorm didn't last too long, maybe a half an hour. But, it thoroughly woke me up.

Now that dawn has dawned I'm seeing what appears to be blue sky. I don't know how long that is going to last.

This latest round of storms has brought in a cold front. It is only 57 out there right now. Which means the pool will be back being warmer than the air, which is the reverse of the pool situation of late.

I think I'll head down to the pool zone now, before it gets any colder.