The Great Downfall

Taken from Environment Canada:

SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...

CLUSTERS OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GODERICH AND KITCHENER AREAS HAVE ALREADY DUMPED LOCALLY NEAR 50 MILLIMETRES OF RAIN TODAY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS AND OTHERS WHICH ARE EXPECTED TO FORM ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE DISTRICT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING LOCALLY VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS FROM TIME TO TIME THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. AS A RESULT RAINFALL AMOUNTS LOCALLY WILL REACH 50 TO 100 MILLIMETRES BY THIS EVENING. IN ADDITION FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 KM/H ARE ALSO QUITE POSSIBLE.



According to the TV version of The Weather Network, there was also a possibility of tornadoes. Actually, I was told one was spotted near Cambridge. We're in a nice little pocket of a valley and don't usually get the really severe weather. But the rain this afternoon was quite impressive. Enough so that I had to pull my camera out and take some pictures to prove it.

When I started seeing lightning that seemed really close, I turned off the TV and went upstairs to turn off computers. After that I watched the rain out my bedroom window. That's when I saw it. The rain was coming down the hill so hard and so fast, it was spouting out of the manhole cover in the middle of the street! I've never seen it do this before. I had a heck of a time trying to get a picture of it, and when I did, it came out so dark that you couldn't see anything. Luckily, I was able to lighten it up. See the area that I circled? That's the water spouting out of the manhole cover. I managed to get a video clip of it that is much easier to see, but I can't figure out how to pull a single frame out of the clip.

They're continuing to forcast rain right up until Wednesday now. I guess we'll have to settle for indoor activities until then. Hey, at least we're not living through hurricane after hurricane! I'll take thunderstorms any day of the week.