Stormy weather for the knock out! Knocked out the lights, that is.

I watched that little storm come here as almost nothing and build and build. We needed to go out in it and we went with no rain gear as I said that it would be quick, which it was. Rain is only water ya know

Later I saw a major storm from that little thing with warnings in several counties down your way. I guess that storms all gotta start somewhere.

But it's nice and cool up here in the Cloud.

We had planned barbeque on the grill but then had to go to Plan B - barbeque under the broiler. No power outage, but it was great to see the skies go dark and the temperature drop from 94 to 70. And funny to see my husband out in the downpour, shutting off the sprinkler.

It wasn't too bad here... 80's most of the day, Just a bit muggy earlier. It's going to hit a low of 70 tonite..

Had the temperature really hit the highs that was predicted, we had rooms ready and we were set to call the Red Cross so they can send some people in their at-risk list to come shelter in our home until the weather broke.

There are still a lot of homes around here where air-conditioning is sadly not an option.

"But it's nice and cool up here in the Cloud. - Richard B." How is it this fine morning Richard?

M M, the idea of someone running outside to shut of the sprinkler in a downpour is very funny.

Good point, Duckie O. High temps are very hard on people with health issues. Can you tell us more about the Red Cross program?

Note to self: You can't bike faster than an incoming storm.

The backstory - I broke my aluminum bike frame last week and got a brand new frame which I built up on Saturday, and tweaked the brakes, derailleur and saddle height.

I decided to not get an aluminum bike frame this time and opted for a steel frame.

Steel tends to rust.

I was on the inaugural new bike ride around the lakes and down the 29th Street Greenway...I got caught about halfway through my ride in the downpour. The rain was SO bad I had to take off my glasses...and prayed that my brakes would still work (they did).

Needless to say I was drenched by the time I got back home...

I was able to turn off my sprinklers, though...and I wiped down and tried to dry off the new bike as best I could.

Power went out for a spell at my house during the storm, and I noticed that most of the traffic lights were out along Hiawatha Avenue last night...

No power outages for me, although things did get a little "blinky" now and again. I decided to shut down the computer and such and read for awhile while the storm raged on to avoid damage to the electronics. Now I'm all caught up on my music mags! There were a couple of thunder boomers that scared the bejeebus out of the cats... and me..

There were a couple of thunder boomers that scared the bejeebus out of the cats... and me..

Oh man...while I was on the Greenway, there were some strikes all around me...I think one hit a few hundred yards just to the south of Uptown...I saw the bolt and heard the thunder with a second. There were a few bikers taking refuge under the bridges, but I decided to keep going as I thought it wasn't going to let up anytime soon and I needed to turn off my sprinklers...

:)

'How is it this fine morning Richard?'

It's really quite nice this morning not much humidity and probably less that 83 or so this afternoon with some clouds. Ya made me look up on Accu Weather to watch the clouds where I saw a few moving up from the South West West sorta of. Heat? I don't think so, at least not for another week or so.

If anyone doubted you are a true biker, OTB, that story should clear things up. Man! You're lucky, biking in a hard storm is rough and dangerous. What do you need to do to take care of your bike post-storm? A good cleaning?

"although things did get a little 'blinky' now and again." - Frick If you don't mind we'll have to add that to the list of useful technical terms, because it made instant sense. It did sound close, didn't it?

Sorry Richard we must have been typing at the same time... I didn't realize you used accuweather.com - are you a fan of it?

I was at a friends house working on a project with his computer. Right after a flash of light and the immediate boom that shook the whole house I said calmly, "Maybe we should save now?" He agreed.

Julia!

I use the following on several different occasions and reasons.

Accuweather
weather bug
weather exchange
ambient weather
noaa
crws jet stream

You're lucky, biking in a hard storm is rough and dangerous. What do you need to do to take care of your bike post-storm? A good cleaning?

Heh...a true biker...you mean a true moron who didn't look at the weather radar before a ride??

I just dried it off as best I could and used some compressed air to blow out the obvious water collection spots...I'll check it later tonight and oil/grease up the frame again...

FWIW: I was ducking down whenever I saw a flash of lightening...there was a period where I took shelter under a bridge with another cyclist and we just concluded that it wasn't "blowing over" anytime soon...so we both took off.

I guess I should also mention cpc.noaa (The Climate Prediction Center) into the Climate and Weather Linkage where one can see the ENSO Cycle (El Nino/La Nina)

In the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) one can watch the build of a new El Nino cycle and the decrease of the La Nina cycle.

It's fun to look at.

http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml

You can certainly add "blinky" to the list of techinical terms. There were some real close shots. One was like cannon fire outside the house. I almost fell off the couch.

One was like cannon fire outside the house. I almost fell off the couch.

Yeah...um...sorry about that...we test fired the cannon on our Sherman tank...

Stevie, I might have to put "Maybe we should save now?" around the various cubicles here...

No love for Weather Underground, Richard B.?

"Heh...a true biker...you mean a true moron who didn't look at the weather radar before a ride??" - OTB No, I mean a true biker. The guys who are so hardcore they laugh at the weather. Laugh at it! I've seen folks (sorry gals, but it is usually men doing this) riding in conditions I'd consider dangerous at best. That said, I'll cop to riding in the S.D. badlands in late August/early September.

BTW, keep your Sherman Tank off Frick's lawn!

Melinda we NEED to see your photos!