WELL. The day started at 3:30AM with a lightning show that woke me up. Very distant thunder. I figured out what it was and started to go back to sleep. Then BANG on the roof. BANG again just as I was asking "Did I imagine..." BANG. By the 4th BANG I was launched out of bed running to the front window.

Because it was hail. I was born in North Texas, and I had two experiences with very large hail (baseball/softball) hitting my house before I was 12. I'm used to violent thunderstorms, and tornadoes are a really remote possibility; but big hail does cause anxiety.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.....th_America
(Three of the four Texas entries on that list are my area and my memory.)

So I watched that hailstorm like a hawk for about 20 minutes. It was about nickel-sized mostly, though I saw once bounce that looked dirigible-shaped and about 2" long. VERY loud on the roof and windows, and damaged leaves on some of my plants, but it was okay.

I went back to bed about 4 (after sending a text to my family who is east of me, and would be getting the storm later) but couldn't sleep. I was WIRED. I got up at the usual time (about 5:30) and started getting ready for the day... to see that another storm was out there. At first it was on a path to pass me on the north, but it kept growing south as it was moving. By 6:15 it was pouring rain again, and by 6:30 hailing slightly bigger than the first time. I saved one that bounced into my front porch.

The storm had passed me by 6:50, so I headed out to work. (Crunching over small drifts of hail in the driveway and street.) My father and brother had both been on the road, but had either found shelter or made it through okay. But several coworkers were caught in the open during their commute. Hail dinged up the car of one of them, and actually broke out the back windshield of another. One of the skylights at my church was broken, too. That was probably bigger hail than I got. Though nowhere near baseball sized, thankfully.

Two hailstorms before 7 AM was a new one for me! Evening is most typical, though it can happen at any time of day. I made it through fine, and got 2.5" of rain.

#1: First hailstorm. It started hailing before the rain, so the ground's not very wet yet. Blurry because of the low light, but all the white spots on the ground and white blurs in the air are hail. It comes hard and fast and bounces high.

#2: Drifted hail from the second storm. It's still falling.

#3: The hailstone I stuck in the freezer, from the second storm. It's melted slightly but still over 1" at its widest point.

I'm glad I had figured out what to wear the night before. And I admit that I rather loved it.

#4-5, March 17: New red cardigan-sweater. (HEWI! I'm in love!) Sage green skirt, translucent green collar necklace. I felt absolutely fabulous in this all day long. The cardigan will get its own post, oh yes.

#6-7, rain wear: There was still a chance of storms in the afternoon again, not to mention a lot of puddles. So I stuck my shoes in a bag and bundled up in rainboots and coat. (Storms are usually associated with a cold front.) It's pure coincidence that all of these are green, too.

And in random news, I had another hailstorm last night. Only pea-sized this time, but it's shaping up to be a tricky storm season.