Yesterday we had a “severe weather watch,” which in Alabama is usually synonymous with “Spring.”
Nevertheless, the threat was enough that schools were closed, and the southeast as a whole is glad the bad weather didn’t live up to its potential.
Hereabouts, we got a deluge all morning (and by deluge, I mean an outright onslaught of rain), and then we had a nice, quiet few hours before a brief, violent spate of hail in the afternoon. Apart from rushing outside to get the dog in before he’s pelted with tiny ice bullets, it was an uneventful day. We didn’t have to hide in the bathtub once!
Anyway, it got me thinking about storms, and weather in general.
Storms are the main reason for the phrases “a force of nature,” and “an act of God.”
With all the technology we have–storm shelters, weather modeling, mass communication, emergency response–we’ve done a lot to mitigate the damage storms do. But despite everything, we can’t overcome the incredible force of a tornado, or predict the site of the next lightning strike. We do what we can to pick up the pieces, but we’re no match for the mindless, destructive force of our planet.
Maybe that’s why we’re so fascinated by them. Because, like a god, a storm is unpredictable, unfathomable, and unassailable. Beautiful and terrible. (Like Galadriel with the One Ring, my inner nerd adds. That’s what I get for trying to be poetic.)
But that’s part of life. And not just part of our lives, as something we have to deal with, like taxes or laundry. It’s part of the system that makes life possible.
Life has to change to exist. One season we get floods, and the next we have a drought. And the dry season reminds us how much we need the rain, even if that sometimes comes with lightning and floods.
What we don’t want to forget is that the cycle is also a balance. If it gets thrown off-kilter
far enough, the effects will be more devastating than any hurricane. Thanks to climate change, we’ve already experienced record heat, historic droughts and flooding in coastal cities (Louisiana, for example). While massive superstorms have always and will always exist, changing climate leads to changing weather patterns.
It’s one of many reasons we should be conscious of our choices and habits: to protect the one environment that sustains life.
But let’s end on some fun. Storms are cool, right? Images of massive storm fronts, tsunamis, lightning, erupting volcanos are some of the coolest photographs out there.
Or better yet, volcano lightning.
And who doesn’t love to watch lightning from space?
That’s why things like storm chasers exists. Because they’re so awesome, right? And because humanity has a strange attraction to things that can kill you…
Anyway, inclement weather might be inconvenient, but it can be wonderful, too. Rainy days are great for sleeping in, or reading in a comfy spot near a window. I also have to admit, I haven’t outgrown the joy of splashing in puddles, provided I can put dry socks on afterward.
And let’s not forget snow! If you’re a Southern girl like me, you can appreciate a good snowfall. I mean, we still talk about that one time it snowed three feet in ’93. I almost lost my sister in a snowdrift. Any time you get enough snow to make more than one snowball, it’s time for celebration.
Plus, this guy frickin’ loves it.
Until next time,
MK
Errant Ink 