Summer Storms on Straddie

One particularly nice afternoon, we decided to have a family picnic on the east side of Straddie, where the beach stretches for miles against the open ocean.  On the radio we heard a severe storm warning - typical of Queensland afternoons - but it was too far south for us to have to worry about.  We piled into the four wheel drive, and made the two trips needed to chauffeur everyone to the beach.  We arrived to this beautiful, blue-sky afternoon:

Yet, minutes later, when we looked down the beach, we saw storm clouds and rain.  When trucks began driving up the beach and toward the exit with their lights on, we got mildly concerned for our afternoon of swimming and playing catch.  In the ten minutes it took for us to realise that the storm was not headed out to sea, as we had hoped, but rather was coming straight for us, the sky had darkened to black.  To my left, it was daytime.  To my right, it was night.

When the thunder and bolts of lightening began, even the Aussies were concerned.  There was no way that we were going to be able to make the two trips needed to get everyone off the beach safely.  So, my family-in-law made a decision that would make my Barry family proud.  Into the car piled the grandparents, parents, three daughters, and two dogs.  The two boys and a girl that were left over hopped on the running boards, and we were off.  It only took us a few minutes to get off the beach, heavy as we were, but the storm kept up with us - in fact, it was moving faster than we could drive.  

The best part?  By the time we were home and settled on the porch with a drink, a rainbow was out.  And they say that New England as spastic weather. 

Beautiful end to the storm

Holding on tight (note the beer in hand!)

Summer Storms

When I bought a waterproof camera for Australia, this is not what I had in mind.  From Sydney to Brisbane, the east coast has been battered by storms bringing hail, heaps of lightening, and even tornadoes through the area today.  Australians are used to summer storms, but even the natives admitted that today's weather was extreme.  

Unfortunately cameras can't catch some things, and the deluge of rain and lightening like fireworks this afternoon had to be seen first hand.  As I got ready to go grocery shopping, the sun was shining over my deck, although there were a few more clouds than there had been earlier.  When I opened the front door, which faces the opposite direction, it was like a different day - low, dark clouds, and a wall of water heading toward me.  By the time I walked to the car, the sun had been gobbled up, and the sky was lit only by lightening striking in all directions.  

I've got to hand it to the Aussies though - they can carry on through a storm!  Although the windshield wipers were working double time, and the headlights were on, traffic kept moving without any problems.  I guess Bostonians learn to drive in the snow, and Queenslanders learn to drive in the rivers that flow where their streets used to be.