Stormy Night

While the east coast is being pounded by storm  “ARTHUR” Edmontonians have enjoyed a stormy night of their own. Here is how I got into it: My host had asked me whether I could pick up a stranded travel trailer around Vegreville,AB, a good hours ride east of Edmonton. So I started on the trip at 8pm. It had been another warm day and the sun was still up when I hit the Trans Canada Hwy 16 east out of the city. The trailer had broken down due to a burnt wheel bearing and had now been repaired locally. It was sitting in a driveway to an oil lease and needed to get out of there as it posed a hinder for oil trucks pulling in there. I got out to hitch on the trailer and was immediately attacked by millions of mosquitoes. No fun! By now the sun had gone beyond the horizon and I noticed a looming dark cloud cover way out west. As I approached Edmonton I saw lightning appear all over the horizon. A mighty thunderstorm was underway. At 11:30pm I had crossed but all of the city to the west when the first rain started falling. It wasn’t too bad yet. I pulled off the Yellowhead (HWY16) and went down Winterburn Road when the rain increased. I had barely made it into the sales lot when the thunderclaps were reaching ear-deafening noise level. I just parked, locked the rig and ran towards my trailer. This was it. Just about 10 minutes later the hail started. If it had been pretty loud before, now it was like somebody throwing a load of stones from high above on the roof. I was expecting my roof hatches to burst at any time. Luckily, the hail lasted for about 5 minutes only before it was replaced with pounding rain. I could handle rain. Lightning was now so intense that there was no break in between. A steady flicker of harsh white-blue light was all around me. The cracking thunder was so bad that I felt the sound vibrations in the trailer. When it finally subsided I fell asleep. Bang! I had slept maybe an hour when it started all over again. Geez… could I get some peace around here? What a night this was. Taking to friends on Campobello this morning they reported high winds and tons of rain last night, and it was still going on. Trees have fallen across the roads and power was on and off all the time. I hope it will be over soon, but the hurricane season sure started early this year. Thanks again for stoppin’ by. Update Storm Arthur:  It is 6pm ADT and Campobello Island is without power entirely. Fallen trees are everywhere, but nobody got hurt. Wind has diminished somewhat but it is still pouring down.