As I sat on my screened porch waiting for the evening storm to roll through, I caught a glimpse of a strange, tiny light out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and it happened again: my first Apex lightning bug! (I'd seen some up in the mountains last summer while visiting my brother, but this was the first one I'd seen in my own backyard.) As the rain started, I saw more lightning bugs. But I was distracted by what was happening on my left, lightning of a different kind: the atmospheric bolts of electricity. Most of them I couldn't make out...the cloud cover created a diffused brightness that lit up the whole area. And we're not talking about a little flash here and there. It was constant! My dad likened it to paparazzi on the red carpet, and that is totally what it resembled. As the storm got closer, the thunder got louder, of course. I wanted a different vantage point so I went out my front door for a look. There is a super tall cellular tower right near my apartment complex (alas, my cell reception does not benefit) and I kid you not, I saw it get struck by lightning twice! I'm sure they must design those things with that occurrence in mind, and indeed, the tower remained standing and didn't spark up or anything. The rain, lightning, and thunder continue as I write this.
Unfortunately, the storm has not brought noticeably cooler temperatures with it. Nice and steamy! On the television, I found out that there are tornadoes possible with this storm as well, at least according to ABC. I cannot tell what the other networks are saying, because those channels are not available; they display a "searching for satellite signal" message, even though I have
cable. Lovely!
Not that it matters, but this is the second thunderstorm today. We had a pretty big one this morning around 5:45. I was lying in bed with my back to the window and my eyes shut, and I could still tell when the lightning struck. Wild!
P.S. The tornado warning for Wake County just expired...whew!
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