The Winds Come Marching Through

The clouds were rolling in from the west and I said to the kids, "Let's go walk the dogs before the rain hits." We'd only gone two blocks, however, when I realized I hadn't judged the speed of the clouds accurately. Thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed. Rain drops were beginning to fall.

I suggested to the kids that we just turn the corner, round the block and head home. We weren't the only people caught out. We met two other dog walkers, a couple who looked to be out for a leisurely stroll, and a dozen kids were playing at the nearby skate park. Everyone seemed to get the idea at about the same time. Head for cover!

Half way home, we could hear the wind coming. It was a little frightening to hear it approach like that. A roar, distant at first, but moving closer much more quickly than our feet would carry us. By the time we rounded the corner so that we could see our house, the rain drops were hitting us hard and the wind was gusting, giving us extra speed as we jogged/ran/let the dogs pull us toward the safety of the house.

The electricity was off when we got home. According to the "power out" line at the electric company, our area was suffering from a major circuit problem. Power was expected back on by 7pm. It was after 8 before the lights finally came back on. The wind and rain passed quickly and the rest of the evening has been quiet. We had a nice view of the sunset and it was oddly still outside.

I've lived in Kansas for most of my life and I don't think I will ever cease to be amazed by the power of the wind. I remember standing at the end of our driveway when I was a kid and watching storms move across the sky. One time my family was having a picnic in the yard. We'd been watching clouds in the distance for quite some time. Talking about them. Trying to decide if we'd finish our meal before they got to us. When the wind began to pick up, we started folding up tables and taking our stuff inside. The neighbor was building a new shed. My uncle or my dad made a comment that the wind was shaking that building so hard, it was a wonder it didn't blow off the foundation. We all turned to look, and sure enough, that shed shimmied and shook and then suddenly rolled right over. One minute there was a building. The next it was in the field, laid out flat like a pancake.

A few years ago, when we were living in Topeka, we had straight line winds that hit 70 or 80 mph. We'd been watching a movie and we heard the wind picking up. I switched over to a television channel to see what the news said about the weather. The news announcer was talking about wind moving through Topeka, toppling signs and light poles as it crossed. It was really earie to see the line on the weather radar, and to hear the wind outside as it approached our house. It passed right over, exactly as the announcer was naming the streets in our area, and took much of our roof (as well as those of our neighbors) with it.

Here and gone again, the winds just march right through.