We have had several thunder and lightening storms lately. I use the T&L term, realizing that I really didn't know what a good one was before we moved here. The first significant one was on Thanksgiving night. Torrential rain, lightening shooting different directions from several areas. Even the sky has a life of its own here. After our party at Matt and Nancy's house just down the road, we let the kids stay up a few minutes longer to watch the light show from the car. Well, Johanna fell asleep. But the two older kids were impressed enough to keep their eyes open.
Coming from Alaska, I am not accustomed to the weather changing my plans too much. It's 20 below outside? Just put on more clothes before you head out for your run. Indeed, it is most often fun to be out in the elements. The cold weather did have the potential to alter plans when our kids were little little. But not real often. Most times it just cut the activity short.
This morning, I awoke to a T&L storm that surpassed others we have seen thus far. Thunder rocked the house, lightening closer than before, rain...lots of it. Run outside? No thanks. The rain doesn't bother me. The lightening...yeah. Swim in an outside pool? No thanks. The pool is probably closed anyway (they kick everyone out in T&L storms).
When Paul got home from a Crossfit routine (indoors) I told him that I was probably hooped for working out this morning. He didn't seem convinced until another bomb of thunder rocked the house. "Yeah, you probably shouldn't go running".
The entrance to our townhouse has two doors. The outside one is a screen. No big secret, I thought when we first arrived, they have a screen door in case you want to open the house up and have a breeze go through. We fixed the door open so we didn't have to fuss with it. Then I found a couple cockroaches inside and I figured out that the screen door has a piece of rubber on the bottom to cover that passageway between the door and the floor. Hmmmm....maybe we should use that door afterall. Then this morning, while I watched the rainwater quickly collect outside and threaten to rise above the little tile ledge to the doors, I understood another reason to use the screen door....keeping the rain outside the house.
During the Thanksgiving party, I started to quiz locals on what to do in the case of a cyclone approaching. On the radio the probability of having a cyclone in the next 3 days is part of the weather forecast. I figured it was high time I found out what to do if they actually told me one was coming. Here is what I was told (I have not yet checked with another source)...
When there is a Watch on a cyclone, make sure you have your cyclone kit ready. That should include survival gear and warm clothes because it can get cool if one hits. Don't go running for cover just yet...a Watch can last a week. If the Watch turns into a Warning, you need to pay more attention. There is a website you can track where the storm is and if its likely path is currently where you are. If it is going to hit your area, get to the most secure room in the house, hopefully one on the ground level. If there is a large window in the room, put a mattress up against it. Do NOT get in a room without a window because all the air can get sucked out, leaving you in a vaccuum. If there is a parking garage under your home, don't go to the lowest level because it will probably be flooded.
We have watched a little footage of one of the largest cyclones in Darwin's history. The damage it did initially wasn't that bad. Then there was calm. Everyone had time to get out from where they were hiding and start to talk about their experince when the eye of the storm hit. It flattened almost everything. Our friends Matt and Nancy (Paul worked with them in Alaska for years) live in a house that was one of the few that remained in tact during that storm. It has concrete everything, including walls and roof. If we get a Warning while we are here, that's where we are headed.
No comments:
Post a Comment