Earlier today, there was some lightning. J came downstairs and asked if I thought we ought to put a tarp over the tomato plants on the deck. I thought it might be an ok idea, so she went outside to do that — a few seconds later, I saw her hastily pulling the plants under the overhang. I was puzzled: hadn’t we just decided on the tarp?

Then I saw the giant chunks of ice smashing down all over the place. It seriously came out of nowhere — a flash of lightning, then a minute later, armageddon. The hail lasted for about 3-4 minutes before turning to very fat, violent rain. But that was enough!