Rare Thunder Today
By vikingswest
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
United States
August 10, 2022 2:00pm CST
It rarely rains during the summer where I live.
If it does, it's just a light drizzle and it passes without any real accumulation.
It's even more rare that we have thunderstorms.
Today, it was both.
The rain came down pretty good for about 15 minutes but the thunder is still going on as I write. No lightning is visible from where I am.
The dry earth soaked up the moisture quickly but the aroma of the fresh rain on the ground was simply delicious.
One of my favorite smells.
It's cool and overcast today after several clear days in the 80's.
The rain was needed but it wasn't near enough to lower the fire hazard. A burn ban is in effect through October.
Do you enjoy thunder or does it concern you?
How often do you hear thunder where you live?
18 people like this
17 responses
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
I am about 350 miles directly north of you here. My son lives near you and hasn't had a thunderstorm there in the three years he's lived there.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137257)
• United States
10 Aug 22
In Missouri, we hear thunder and see lightning all the time when it rains but not for the last two months. It stormed for the last two days. The temp dropped from 98F to 70F in about two hours and then fell to 65 for an overnight low. It's still only 85F outside and smells so fresh. (We got over three inches of rain and there was flooding in the small towns around us.) The forecast claims we'll have more rain tomorrow... maybe.
I don't mind hearing thunder and seeing lightning.
I hope you see some more rain in the near future.
2 people like this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
I spent two months near Fort Leonard Wood and time in the Ozarks in about 1978 and there were several serious storms that went through there.
Doesn't the dry earth smell great after rain?
It's pretty dry here and I hope there will be more rain tonight.
More thunder would be great too lol.
2 people like this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
@DaddyEvil
I did. It was the same way in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Awesome and scary.
We've never really had a rolling thunder here like the Midwest. It echoes up against the Olympic Mountains though and sounds similar.
I'll bet it was like a sponge after being so dry.
The ground here isn't even wet. It's been absorbed already.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137257)
• United States
10 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Oh, nice! I'm glad you got to experience some Missouri thunderstorms!
Yes, that smell is like nothing else on this planet! And you should have seen how fast the dry earth sucked the water down. It looked like a sponge...
While you were here before, did you see heat lightning and hear the thunder from that?
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@rebelann
That's too bad. I would imagine fireworks make for a tough time too.
Poor guy.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
I got so lucky with my dog Blue. He isn't bothered by thunder, fireworks or weapon reports from the shooting range near me.
Every other dog I have had had a terrible times with things like that. So bad that we got Benedryl for them.
It was nice to get the rain too.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
11 Aug 22
Very rarely, but here right in my little pocket..the thunder and lightning is actually quite dangerous.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Oh yes I totally get that..so deadly it is.
But exhilarating for me...I sometimes wish I was in Wuthering Heights with the wild and windy moor tossing and rolling in green and lashed with rain and thunderous lightning
I am stone mad you know.
Here we are just in the foothills of the Rockies but this little valley is a pocket for it.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@RebeccasFarm
I have a brother-in-law that lived in Loveland and my wife lived in Winter Park. Both of them said that thunderstorms were serious business there.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I can imagine. It can be dangerous here too.
I am between the ocean and the Olympic Mountains with nothing but National Forest all around me.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
I am originally from the upper Midwest US.
Thunder and lightning was common there.
Now I am almost as far west and north as you can get and storms like todays are rare.
The lightning, although I don't see any, it's a huge concern here. I am surrounded by National Forests and fire is a real danger here.
But I just love thunderstorms lol.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
@Kandae11
I would LOVE storms like that!
As a kid, my friends and I would try to chase down severe weather and get as close as we could.
Until we caught up with a tornado one time.
Didn't do much chasing after that.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (55005)
•
10 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 lots of trees around where l live. I recall five years ago, a thunderstorm lasted for over three hours. And there was a period in which the thunderclaps had 10 second intervals. It felt like the end of the world.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
It hasn't rained here since springtime.
I was out under the awning in back so I could take more of it in. Coffee, thunder and rain.
Can't beat that.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
10 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Wow that is a long stretch. We have had tons of rain. More thunder today than usual. A great combination indeed,
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
@CarolDM
That was the best cup of coffee in a long time :)
Very nice to see you again Carol. I hope you are happy and well watching the butterflies coming to say hello.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
12 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 - We usually have a good amount of rain during March and April and later during October and November. During summer we have thunderstorms (we are near the Alps and near two lakes), in winter we usually had snow, not the past winter.
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
We had a hailstorm here last spring and then it turned to snow but it came without thunder.
I live in a place that sees around 17" of precipitation per year. It's really an unusually dry spot in an otherwise traditionally wet state.
I live in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. I'm in the foothills between the ocean and the 5000 foot Olympics.
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (44241)
• Wapello, Iowa
11 Aug 22
I enjoy thunder but we don't get much of it anymore. Storms are becoming rarer here.
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (44241)
• Wapello, Iowa
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 I don't even mind the severe ones unless they veer into tornado terrority.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@xander6464
There's never been that kind of threat here but earthquakes are.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
That's too bad. Thunderstorms are great as long as they aren't severe.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (106226)
• Marion, Ohio
11 Aug 22
Its a normal sound here in the summer. I love to listen to it
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I moved west in 1989. I can only recall a dozen or so thunderstorms in all those years.
It's like music to me. I sat outside and just listened for an hour :)
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@wolfgirl569
I even miss that white crap that falls from the sky lol.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (106226)
• Marion, Ohio
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Another reason I dont want to move too far. There is a lot I would miss.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (41427)
• United States
11 Aug 22
We frequently hear thunder, especially in warm weather. There's an old wives tale that if we hear thunder in the winter, we'll get snow in three days.
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@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I have heard that too. Except I grew up in Minnesota and in the winter, it ALWAYS snowed every few days, thunder or no thunder lol.
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@1creekgirl (41427)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 That I can understand! We get a lot less snow in eastern NC, thank goodness.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (102799)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
10 Aug 22
It concerns me a little bit to hear thunder since I fear having to deal with the harsh sounds. It does rain from time to time during the year which is good for the grass to drink.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
10 Aug 22
I would imagine that many people are sensitive to loud thunder. It doesn't bother me at all. I actually love thunderstorms.
The rain sure was needed here. I wish we'd get more.
It's nice to see you again George. I hope you are well :)
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
@Deepizzaguy
You're very welcome.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (102799)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Thank you for your kind comments.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16389)
• Raurkela, India
11 Aug 22
I like drizzling but not thunder as it causes a lot of damage.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
The lightning can bring damage but the sound of thunder is so wonderful to me that I just sit and listen. The rain was nice to get too.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16389)
• Raurkela, India
12 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 I don't like the sound too as it's too harsh and loud.
@oahuwriter (26777)
• United States
11 Aug 22
We have thunder storms every now and then, and itu very disconcerting. Why, so loud and sometimes it knocks out electricity, so rain good, especially at night, but no thanks to thunder & lightening.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I live in a place where power lines are underground. Storms won't normally affect power.
It would be hard if storms knocked out power, I may not enjoy them so much then lol
1 person likes this
@oahuwriter (26777)
• United States
12 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1
Your lucky, ours not underground.. Thus I worry.
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I love it. I know it can be dangerous due to lightning strikes but I just love a thunderstorm. Especially when thunder rattles the windows because it's so loud :)
1 person likes this
@Adie04 (17360)
•
12 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 Oh yes, that rattling concerns me though. I would be off all the electronics like phones and laptop when it happens.
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
11 Aug 22
Well, I "would" enjoy it if we had any .
In my childhood, we had so much more rain and thunderstorms . . . but now it's quite rare. I remember a few years ago when we had some good thunder . . . in my little son's class, so many kids never experienced those booms - freaked them out!
Enjoy whatcha got while you can!!
1 person likes this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
14 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 I'll bet you went through some super storms! We had some good ones in Southern California back then . . . very different now. Glad you enjoyed the show out there!
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I grew up in the upper Midwest. I took all those great storms for granted.
I really enjoyed the thunder today. I got coffee and sat outside and just listened and smiled.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136369)
• India
11 Aug 22
Weather is weird everywhere It rained in December and it was the cause of my seasonal flowers not showing up and the fruits too.
@kaylachan (69670)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
11 Aug 22
Quite frequently depending on the type of summer we have. This year I haven't heard it nearly as much as I'm used to because we haven't had near as much rain.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (69670)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
11 Aug 22
@Vikingswest1 That's usually the case here. We once had a time where it flooded real bad. But, storms like that are far and few in-between.
1 person likes this
@Vikingswest1 (6304)
• United States
11 Aug 22
I spent about 6 months near Key West and the one thing that stood out to me was that when bad storms would roll through, you just had to wait for an hour and it would pass. The sun would be back out in no time.
1 person likes this