In the afternoon yesterday, I suddenly got an emergency alert on my phone warning residents to take cover as a severe thunder storm was about to blow through the city. I’d known that there was a thunder storm on the horizon, having checked the weather earlier that morning, but it had seemed odd to me nevertheless to send out that sort of alert for a thunder storm. Sure enough, it blew through the downtown area, and the downpour was strong, but it wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary.
If you’re wondering how Scout handles the sound of thunder, I’m happy to report that he is as cool as a cucumber.
So far the only thing that truly seems to scare Scout is his hairbrush…
But I digress.
The most interesting thing that happened in our abode was that the toilet began gurgling and bubbling, unnerving both Scout and I at first… but after it quieted again without the water overflowing (thankfully), it seemed more funny than anything else. Indeed, other than that, I just worked on the CSS issue I wrote about in the previous entry, and Scout napped contentedly on the bed.
Which is why I was puzzled when I got a text from my parents on the family group chat urging us all to stay inside and that they were sheltering in their basement. I was downright shocked when they sent us photos some time later of what it looked like outside their front door after the storm had finally passed in their area.
Our cherry tree had been uprooted by the wind and fallen over on the neighbours’ car. Two enormous trees across the road had been uprooted and fallen as well. In another picture they sent, the tree and entire sheet of grass that covered the front yard of a neighbour two doors down had been uprooted all together and fallen over. If they hadn’t sent photos, I wouldn’t have believed it.
A storm like this, the likes of which we never used to see in these parts, is climate change in action. Rightfully alarming.
Several people so far have been reported as having died in the Ontario storm (as it’s being called), and there were several injuries as well. Tons of uprooted trees, flying debris, and downed powerlines, the widespread likes of which we haven’t seen in this region since the huge ice storm of ’98 (I was in elementary school back then, but I remember it vividly). My parents lost power and as of my writing this, it still hasn’t been restored, because people have lost power all over the region. It’s incredibly fortunate that my area wasn’t hit with a power outage or the heavy wind and rain that my family members’ and friends’ areas were subjected to.
It took until late at night for us to get back in contact with my brother, who had lost cell reception, internet and power early on, but for whom the storm seemed otherwise fairly typical in strength (like it did in my area). His power was restored overnight.
I’m glad that everyone is okay.
I’m also sad that the cherry tree is gone… it had been growing in the front yard since before we moved in in ’97, survived the ice storm in ’98, had been home to countless bird nests over the years, and was just beautiful to look at, especially in the spring.