When there’s bad weather in Southern California, they always make it sound like the most dramatic event ever. “RAIN WATCH 2009!” “STORM WATCH 2008!” “ Expect INCHES of RAIN!!!” I can see how people watching the news in Maine from under a blanket of snow are less than impressed.
Trust me, though- this storm was a doozy. Southern Californians aren’t mentally or physically prepared for a good drenching, so when it hits we all stand around befuddled as to what the heck we’re supposed to do when the house starts to flood. Driving in it? Forget it. And that’s just rain we’re talking about here. Throw hurricane-force winds, tornadoes and hail into the mix and you have panic of epic proportions. Needless to say, I am glad I didn’t need to go out much the last few days.
Especially when the hail started. It began as a pummeling of rain, which turned into little dippin dots of ice. By the time I got the camera out, we had marbles falling from the sky.
Brody had no idea what to make of it. First, he observed.
Then he decided to make a run for it. Why not? His center of gravity is low. Unlike me, who slipped on my behind the second I stepped out onto that treacherous stuff and could do nothing but stay under the porch and wait until he got sick of getting pummeled.
The hail was so strong it knocked our Christmas lights down. YOU HEAR THAT, HUBBY? Even the universe was sick of waiting for you to get around to it.
Yaay, hail is fun!
…..unless you’re getting nailed in the eyeball. Not so fun.
This is a rare opportunity for us SoCal people. Ice doesn’t pile up too well, but you can certainly shove it into a horizontal snowman iceman.
We don’t have scarves, hats, or sticks- so we improvised: an aloha ice lady with a eucalyptus skirt. I thought it was apropos. She wasn’t as cheery a second later, when Brody crashed onto the scene and ate her midsection- but a quick and messy death would probably be preferable to her protracted fate the next morning when the sun came up.
Oooh poor Brody got zoinked by a hailstone! We have a cyclone hanging around the coast in Oz so I can relate to the crazy weather 🙂
Yikes! Stay safe! (cyclones are way scarier to me than hail.)
Brody, when the weather gets ugly, it’s best just to stay inside and force Dr. V to bake you cookies. That’s what we did yesterday. The recipe is over at our place today if you’re interested.
http://www.the7msnranch.com/2010/01/baking-wallys-cookies.html
shhh! You’re going to make me work?? lol. Those look very yummy and Smooch looks like one happy camper!!
ahh I bet Brody would so LOVE some real snow. Wish I could send you a foot or so of ours, we would not miss it a bit..
He’d go nuts. I’m debating going to Big Bear- probably a 3 hour drive or so- so he can play in it.
Just started reading your blog and I’m ADDICTED! My head hurts from the past couple days of crying from trying to read from the beginning. LOVE the pics on this one, Brody is a handsome fella!
Thank you so much! We were a little morose mid-year but the tone perked up once Brody hit the scene. 🙂
Awww how cute! That is some freaky weather y’all got though. It’s more like what we get in KY. But then again we also have to deal with the weatherpeople’s freakouts (OMGWTFBBQ, it’s the STORM of the CENTURY, we’re all gonna die. Go buy bread and milk kthanxbai) Hail can be pretty but I hate the damage it causes on cars. I still have some pox marks from our last big storm, couldn’t find shelter fast enough.
Dig the snowgirl Dr. V, good job.
Our garage is stuffed full of Christmas boxes- I couldn’t have moved the cars if I wanted to!
How big does your hail yet? I’ve hear stories of golfballs and the like.
The last storm that did major damage to my car was indeed golf ball size. It was ugly and happened in mid-August one year. I’ll have to find a picture of another recent storm. Maybe about half that size but covered everything.
Here in Oklahoma, when you hear the weatherman utter the word “grapefruit” you know it’s gonna be bad.
We had BLIZZARD ’09 here on Christmas Eve. Everyone gets so sick of the dramas from the weather people, that it’s hard to take them seriously, but this time they were correct. It was the worst snowfall I’ve ever seen in my 32.9 years.
GRAPEFRUIT? Bleahhhh!!
As someone from Maine, I was still totally impressed by the hail. But then again, I live on the coast so we don’t get nearly half as much snow as Mainers from the “County.”
I wish Pru had as much enthusiasm as Brody does towards things like hail.. well.. maybe not so much hail as she is little as the hail might knock her out 🙂 But like snow. She hates it.
I liked your Aloha Ice Lady. Very cute!
She hates snow? In Maine? However do you manage? lol
Lots of dog hoodies and indoor fetch. Making her do her business actually on the snow covered lawn and not our nice walkway is a whole other story. 🙂
I love your SoCal snowwoman, very cute.
Bro, you are so adorable. Take him to Big Bear Dr. V, he’ll go nuts. Starr is insane over the snow. She rolls every single inch of her body in it!
Do it! Sophie loooves the snow. Here she is rolling in it and running around like a crazy dog in the deep snow.
That’s hysterical! I love the sheer enthusiasm.
I need to work on my husband. I’ll tell him we have to do it, for blog research purposes. 😉
Dr. V, as a producer for the Weather Channel, my hubby is responsible for writing many of their BIG DRAMATIC HEADLINES! So in a really roundabout way, California’s goofy weather is responsible for the Valentine’s Day getaway we’ll be going on soon. Yea! Goofy weather! Yea Overtime! Yea Brody!
PS if you ever watch The Weather Channel on Sat & Sun between 8-11 am Pacific, those are Mr. Jewels!
You should have seen me at 10:56, scrolling through the channels trying to find the Weather Channel. I didn’t find it until after 11 though. OK, next weekend I’m there.
I was searching for Storm Watch 2010 content for a blog I write for our corporate site and enjoyed this so much I replaced the link so our readers could get a giggle. Thanks so much for the smile. You’ve definitely earned a new reader!
Oh yay! Welcome!! 😀