The day was coming to an end, and the weather forecast never mentioned anything about a storm. So after I had finished with my chores, I headed out to relax on the veranda. It was a calm evening without the normal flow of traffic. An old yellow cat lazily flopped down on the stoop next door, wagging it's tail aimlessly. We both watched as the childeren across the street ran back and forth laughing. The birds were singing as they fluttered about. Just as I was about to nod off, an eerie calm swept through the air, brining with it a chill.
Out of nowhere I heard a loud clap, and the western sky lit up. As the sky grew darker, scilence filled the air, except for the rolling thunder in the distance. Soon a rush of wind blew in from the west and with each passing second it grew stronger. As the childeren scurried inside, the sky lit up like fireworks in July. The wind began to wail and thrash about. What I thought were hub caps rolling down the street, to my suprise, were lids off trash cans because soon after the trash cans were sailing in the air behind them. Bags of trash went rolling past like tumble weeds. The traffic signal on the corner was swinging to and fro and I could hear the rains coming from the distance.
The lighting clapped and the thunder rumbled as it drew closer and stronger. The rain was pounding against the house as I turned and ran inside. I scurried around to close all the windows, and then went to stand at the door to watch. Within minutes the streets filled with water looking like rivers. Trash was washing down the street along with childeren's toys. The lightening clapped and I could hear the crackling sound of trees breaking. I heard a loud bang and looked up in time to see a transformer blow. A blue glow surrounded it while white balls of fire floated down like parachutes. The rain sounded like rocks pelting the house and I realized it was hail balls. The sound of sirens was wailing from all directions. My lights began to flicker and I began to search for candles. And suddenly I was alone in the dark.
The city was in darkness for the power was out everywhere. The winds died down now and the rains have slowed. The sirens were still wailing. There were fires, floods, trees down and auto wrecks, all across town. One by one the neighbors were coming out to take inventory of the damages. As I looked about I saw the neighbor's large elm tree lying across Main Street. There was a shed on its side, one shed missing. A Childs pool had been left wrapped around the telephone pole. Our trampoline was upside down next door. Streets were closed due to high water. All we could do was shake our heads and return to our homes. I was sitting there in utter disbelief. Still in the dark, I decided to turn in for the night.
The storm left almost as fast as it came. We all believed it had benn a tornado. I went out to see if things had improved or gotten worse. The floods were gone, and the trash washed away. I could hear chain saws ripping through the fallen trees as clean up had begun. A few of the yards looked like pools. The traffic was busy as usual. People going on about their business as if the night before had never happened. I flipped on the television to see what th news had to say about last night's storm. Newsman said: Wind squalls from the west reached forty to sixty miles an hour. Heavy down pours of rain at times. Counties without electrical power and could be out for days. Heavy damage has been reported across ther vally. I just sat there in disbelief. I was sure it was a tornado. For a day to have started out so beautiful, it sure had turned into a terrible summer storm.
