Massive Lightning Storm

The storm that rolled through Wednesday night was unlike any I had experienced since leaving North Carolina in 2002. The meteorologists recorded 3,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours and let me tell you, three of them couldn't have struck more than 1/4 mile from my house.

Thunderstorms are one of the things missing from life in the Pacific Northwest, we just don't get them too often up here. And I miss that. I love the sound of the thunder, the flashing of the lights, and the smell of electrified rain. On the rare occasion that we do get a thunderstorm, it's typically a rather mellow event and over within minutes.

And then there was the storm on Wednesday. It went on forever, as if the cells were circling above our neighborhood. The bolts were massive, the house shook, the rumbling came instantaneously after the crackling flash of light. My friend Erik (who posted an awesome photo here), who lives down the road, says his smoke detectors went off several times that night.

Sleep was hard to come by, and the storm was bad enough to warrant unplugging the computer and monitor, among other things. When I finally did fall asleep sometime in the middle of the night, I was woken just two hours later by yet another storm. And another bolt that I can only assume touched down somewhere on my block.

It was an absolutely amazing storm. I was too tired to even think about taking photos but some Snoqualmie Ridge residents were more motivated than I.

See some pretty great photos of the lightning right here.

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