Oh what a night!

As anyone in southern & central Ontario and the north eastern US is aware, yesterday was a wicked day for weather.

We have had a blistering few days here with unheard of high temps and extreme heat & humidity alerts - it was only just a matter of time before the storms would come that would break the heat and last night, they came with a vengeance.

I was at agility class with Quinn when they hit. It was about quarter to 9 and everyone seemed to be getting very restless - dogs and people alike. Several commented that it seemed to be getting dark awfully early. Where our classes are held, we are in a clearing of tall pines so the view of the sky is somewhat limited, but by 8:45 there was no mistaking there was trouble on the horizon. A black cloud with a razor-sharp defined edge swept over the trees and brought with it gusting winds that blew over our jumps and whipped the words away from our mouths as we spoke them.

Lightening flashed to the north as a line of storms skirted by us. Although obviously nervous, Quinn stayed steady with me. I think she was picking up on the nervousness of the people, as were the other dogs.

By 5 to 9, I apologized to the instructor but said we were beating a retreat for home before the storm hit us full on and I got Quinn and I into the car not a moment too soon as huge rain drops started pelting all around us. By the time I got settled into the car and got moving, the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was rocking the car from side to side as it seemed to come from every direction at once. I KNOW I was the first one to get in my car, so I also KNOW that the other students and dogs got at least a little wet as they dashed for the safety of their vehicles.

Not much makes me nervous when it comes to weather, and I actually enjoy watching a good electrical storm, but that one last night put me on edge.

I called home and asked that the front door be unlocked so Quinn and I could make a run for it but we were still drenched by the time we ran from the driveway to the house (note to self: next house MUST have more than a single garage & must have access to the house!!!).

Poor storm-phobic Monty was just about out of his skin when we got home. Darryl and I stood in the dark kitchen for a while watching the most amazing light show over Lake Ontario while another cell passed us by to the south.

All in all, we were skirted on 3 sides by the storm but didn't sustain a direct hit. We were a lot luckier than other places in the province where tornadoes touched down or high winds and hail caused widespread damage.