When it rains......

My trip to Lewiston to hike thru the woods didn't turn out exactly, or lets say not anything like I'd planned. The sky was getting a little dark in the SW when I left home but the forecast was for scattered light thunder showers so I set out. The radio was telling me there were storms in southwest MN moving NE headed for the Cities so I figured Winona county was in the clear. There were a few raindrops now and then on the way but nothing that would drench me if I was out in it. I parked in the valley (the washed out road has been repaired so it is passable by car now) and set out. Not more than 20 or 30 steps down the path there was a flash and a long thunder roll so I figured I should go back to the car and wait to see what would happen. It sprinkled a little with pauses until other flashes and rolls. I ventured out not far from the van during the dry moments to see about gathering some wild flowers but I was driven inside a few times by successively harder showers. I still wanted to walk down beside the river to see what was blooming so to pass some time I drove the couple miles into Lewiston for a Subway supper. It kept raining harder - so hard that I sat in the Subway lot for awhile so I wouldn't get soaked running to the door. While I sat there, the tornado sirens started to wail. So I drove up as close as I could to the door and dashed in. The girls running the place hadn't heard the sirens with music and fans and things that make noise in such a place. I asked them if they had a plan. They said they'd lock the door and go wait it out in the back room. Anybody in the store could go with them or leave if they wanted to. I had nowhere else I wanted to be at that moment and we had a clear view of the sky so they made me my sandwich and I ate there. The sirens stopped before long and the radio said the tornado warning for Winona had expired. Not wanting to leave the valley without my wildflowers, I drove back down as the rain tapered off. By the time I had the flowers, it had stopped completely. But as I headed toward home there was significant lightening in the distance and I drove thru some heavy rain followed by lighter showers. Then to my surprise, I noticed the sun just about to set.

You may think this is just a bad clip but the rain was coming down causing the noise on the roof of the van while the sun was setting - somewhere obviously nicer than where I was. In the 2nd clip, taken a little later, you can definitely see it's raining.