Wow! What a storm! I’m writing this on my laptop, since it’s not connected to a power outlet. Internet connection is down. Half the TV and radio stations are off the air: Channels 15, 12, 10, and 8, as far as I can tell, plus NPR and most of the stations on the lower end of the FM band.
Not much rain, but the fiercest wind I’ve ever seen swept through here a half-hour ago. It really ripped—I was worried that the devil-pod tree would break and fall on the house. The prevailing direction was out of the south, though, which likely would have blown a major limb northerly of the house with minimal damage. The scary part was the noise: it sounded like a fleet of jet airplanes revving their engines, and it went on and on, for a good half-hour like that. No hail, not even enough rain to flood the back patio: just high winds, lightning, and weird noise.
I can’t get online and there’s no news on the couple of broadcast TV and radio stations that are still live. The power has come back on (and gone off; and come on again) and the wind has died down, leaving an eerie stillness now that the neighbors have shut off the chorus of berserk burglar alarms. As far as I can see with a flashlight, the roof looks OK, though it’s awfully dark out there and I can’t tell much. None of the trees in my yard seems to have snapped, a small miracle considering how overgrown they all are. Cassie the Corgi was visibly frightened but she’s calm now; apparently her terrors pass as quickly as an Arizona monsoon.
In any event, we have two three-gallon containers of water, 40 gallons in the water heater, the better part of a canister of propane, two good flashlights, a store of candles, and two butane lighters. So I guess we’re OK for the nonce and then some, except that I have only a quarter tank of gas in the car. Wuz waiting till tomorrow to refill, by way of staying on budget this week for a change.
This area isn’t prone to natural disaster. Even so, it’s a good idea to be prepared: extended power outages are not unheard-of. Some areas lose power for hours or even days as a result of storm damage, not a good thing when temperatures are over 100 degrees all day. A monsoon normally will drop the air temperature 20 degrees or so, leaving us with a tolerable night. But come 8:00 in the morning…yipe! At the very least, what’s needed is water, candles, flashlights, propane, and a propane grill or camp stove. Modern gas stoves are kept alight by electricity, and so when the power is out your gas range is out too; at best, it’s unsafe.
And clearly…LOL! It would be wise not to let one’s gas tank run dry.
Hmmmm… We appear to be back online. So, to post and then to bed.