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| Rain as the storm begins. |
Rainfall for July was 13.8". The second rainiest on record. "Little Summer" was different this year. There were more clouds and less consecutive blue-sky days and a memorable, rare fierce storm. On Thursday a strong storm passed through the finca. It caught me by surprise, here's my story.
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| A curtain of rain behind flowers. |
John departed with Mario to drive him home. Shortly afterwards it began to rain. A curtain of big drops inspired me to take photos from the patio. Lightning and thunder came so Spencer and I went inside. I sat down for a few minutes and realized it was raining even harder and winds were increasing. Just as the storm caught my full attention, the power went out.
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| The dead tree across the street that was damaged by the storm. |
I could see outside the back and side of the house from where I sat. The winds appeared horizontal, traveling many directions and carrying plant material. Things became more chaotic. I saw a large branch break off the cedro tree. The winds were fierce and fast! Trees swayed 90 degrees, back and forth. Pea sized hail fell for a short time. I heard a tree across the street snap and make a big thud on the ground, followed by an incredible sound of debris hitting the house. Gutters overflowed and water forced itself inside under the front door.
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| Trees and branches fell on an internal trail. |
John was driving home when the storm hit. He was stopped by downed trees blocking the road and had to park and walk home.
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| Tree damage from the storm. |
The tree that fell in the front was dead, dry and brittle. Millions of pieces of the tree, shred by the wind, was all over the road and front yard. Some of the larger branches became projectiles and penetrated a few inches into the ground. One made a hole through the siding of the house! Lots of debris went on the roof and filled the gutters.
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| Hole in the siding of the house from a branch during a tornado. |
The following morning the guys arrived and everyone had stories to share about the storm. They said it was a tornado that started a few communities away and traveled through our finca and on to a few other communities. Countless trees snapped in half or were uprooted and fell. There were reports of some property damage. Fortunately, I have not heard that anyone was hurt.
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| Fallen branches on the road and Smiley the dog. |
The entire storm lasted about 45 minutes. 1.8" of rain. I'm pondering how this fits in my list of intense storms I've been through and as of now I think it is #1. I'll remember it as the "little summer of the tornado".
