Weird Weather...

Yesterday brought us some very odd summer weather.  First it was very hot (got up to 108°F).  Then a thunderstorm rolled overhead.  Lightning struck the hills all around us, but especially to the northeast.  The dogs went crazy with all the noise, and the cats all retreated to high perches from where they could safely watch the crazy dogs.  It rained, and for a brief time, it poured.  The temperature dropped by 30° in the space of 15 minutes, and it got seriously muggy (trust me – this is a very unusual thing to feel out here).  It didn't go on long enough to accumulate a measurable (1 mm) amount, but while it lasted we had water sluicing off our roof – which, remember, is only 1/3 covered.  Thankfully we didn't have any leaks, though I'm sure we have a lot of wet wood up there.  The wind was gusty, too, knocking things in the yard all about.

The photo at right shows the rain squall coming through our valley (taken from Lyons Peak, looking north toward Lawson Valley). You can see that this was quite an isolated cell; everything was sunny around it.