Tornado!

Last night was my final night in Round Rock, TX. When I got to the hotel after work, I ordered dinner and started to pack for my trip home the next day. I had the gameshow Duel on the tv for background noise.  The show was interrupted by a very concerned weather man who said that a tornado watch was in effect for counties north of Round Rock and that the storm was travelling south quickly. At first I wasn't concerned, but when I went to weather.com and punched in the hotel's zip code, I got a big red banner that said TORNADO WARNING!  TAKE COVER NOW!  What the hell?  I looked out the window and I could see some lightning flickering, as if someone high in the sky were turning the daytime light switch on and off really fast. The concerned weather man went on to say that we should park cars under cover because we would be getting baseball-sized hail that could cause severe damage. Back to the window to look at my rental car which had no hopes of being parked anywhere other than the open hotel parking lot where it already was. Would the insurance cover huge holes in the windshield caused by baseballs made of ice? The weather man showed us a map with a big red spot in the middle, right above where I was. He said the storm was getting closer and that we should take cover. I went back to the window and saw rain, lots of rain. I heard thunder, but saw no hail...no tornados. Would we get sucked up by a cyclone in manner of Dorothy Gale?  The weatherman was still showing us the map, and the big red spot was right over Round Rock.  I went to the window again with my camera, ready to film the action. Rain, rain, rain, rain...more rain. 

The rain came and went, the concerned weather man went back to regular programming (still on Duel), and I realized I had just witnessed the Texas version of what in Panama we would call an "aguacero", except at home it happens on a regular basis. At certain times during the year it happens every day. We go to work in it, we sleep through it, we leave our cars outside in it, and sometimes we even walk in it. As we like to say...such is life in the tropics! 

Glad to be going home...just a few more hours. Sorry for the misleading title...but you have to admit it's more exciting than "Rain!"

Comments

[Greta]

loved it! hahah you've actually made me giggle... you're right, if you're not from here and you witness a good'ole aguacero you'll be talking about it the rest of your life. Naturally I love sunny days, but there's just something magical about the vibe of a rainy day, even makes me think differently...

anyway, glad it was just an aguacero...

[Iván]

Besides, rain water is even warm! A quién no le gusta bañarse en el aguacero de vez en cuando? No me imagino que me caiga una pelota de beis encima, jajaja.

[Michelle]

Everything's bigger in Texas...bigger warnings, bigger hail, bigger hullabaloo about nothing...at least it gave you a little excitement on your last day in Texas :)!!