Many people know that I love thunderstorms. I'm sure I must have posted about that before, and I'm sure I've probably posted pictures or videos that I've tried to take with various degrees of success. This time I don't have any pictures or videos; I don't think photos of the storm tonight would have the same impact that it does in person, so you'll have to imagine.
Earlier this evening, it finally got cool enough to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. Shortly before midnight, I was just about to go to bed when I noticed faint light flashing outside. I assumed it wasn't lightning, because I didn't hear any sound. I looked outside, and far to the east (toward the Pacific Ocean) I saw flashes of light that were slowly and irregularly getting brighter. Thunderstorms here are often strong and loud, approaching from the mountains northwest of here and moving over the city toward the south or east, so it seemed a little strange that the storm hadn't passed through Utsunomiya.
I watched the storm for about 20 minutes, and it's continuing as I write this. From my perspective in our sixth-floor apartment, it looks close to the horizon. The light is an eerie, salmon-color when it flashes. About every five seconds, it looks like a gigantic strobe light blinks on and off a couple of times behind enormous dark clouds, silhouetting them for an instant in the sky. Sometimes it looks like bad special effects from an old horror movie, but the brightest flashes with a sudden bolt of lightning jumping between the clouds look more like computer graphics from a sci-fi movie set on another planet. Except for the hum of an electric fan or the sound of an occasional car driving down the street, it's absolutely silent. The storm is so far away, I can not hear any thunder at all. It is astonishingly beautiful, and as always with thunderstorms, I am reminded of God's power.
Earlier this evening, it finally got cool enough to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. Shortly before midnight, I was just about to go to bed when I noticed faint light flashing outside. I assumed it wasn't lightning, because I didn't hear any sound. I looked outside, and far to the east (toward the Pacific Ocean) I saw flashes of light that were slowly and irregularly getting brighter. Thunderstorms here are often strong and loud, approaching from the mountains northwest of here and moving over the city toward the south or east, so it seemed a little strange that the storm hadn't passed through Utsunomiya.
I watched the storm for about 20 minutes, and it's continuing as I write this. From my perspective in our sixth-floor apartment, it looks close to the horizon. The light is an eerie, salmon-color when it flashes. About every five seconds, it looks like a gigantic strobe light blinks on and off a couple of times behind enormous dark clouds, silhouetting them for an instant in the sky. Sometimes it looks like bad special effects from an old horror movie, but the brightest flashes with a sudden bolt of lightning jumping between the clouds look more like computer graphics from a sci-fi movie set on another planet. Except for the hum of an electric fan or the sound of an occasional car driving down the street, it's absolutely silent. The storm is so far away, I can not hear any thunder at all. It is astonishingly beautiful, and as always with thunderstorms, I am reminded of God's power.
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