Clash of the Cold Front

Yesterday we were melting under an smothering blanket of heat. The high was near 100 degrees and it was so humid you had to swim everywhere instead of walking. Blast those men who can strip down far more than is socially appropriate for a modest lady of distinction. But we were promised a respite of cooler temperatures come evening.

Evening came and with it, nothing. We were still melting.

Nonetheless, the weather promised that there was a cold front moving in. We had just finished readying my grandpa for bed. I took a peek out the window and saw bugs, back-lit by the setting sun, buzzing about busily. I had thoughts of the calm before the storm, that oppressive calm filled with simmering energy right before a storm breaks. Then I dropped the curtain and moved to leave the room.

Suddenly, a blast of wind shook the house. It blew the screen off the window facing west and a crash sounded from outside as a tree branch broke off and landed in my parents' yard. Trees were whipping back and forth, dust choked the air, and the temperature, so sticky and overwhelming just a moment before, dropped rapidly. A colossal battle was being fought over our heads by two opposing fronts, one cold and one very, very hot.

Of course, the only thing for us to do was to stand in the yard looking at the tree the limb came off of, then to jump in the car and drive around to look at the weather without any trees or buildings to block our view. No tornadoes, but we did get to see some impressive cloud structures as the cold air chiseled under the large mass of moist air located north-east of town.

I love the weather here. So much fun. Until the tornado comes and sucks you away.

The sunset north-west of town.

The large cloud building as the cold front moves in.

This is the cloud action to the south of town. We were ringed by storms
(we always are, to the sorrow of my mom who wants to see some action
up close). When the sun set, you could see flashes of lightning all around.

The dark pink clouds represent the lower-level cold air
sweeping in under the warm moist air (the white cloud edge).
The pink cloud moved across the sky until in the next picture,
it's now under the white cloud.

Because of the different colored clouds, we could
actually see the fronts moving together and the
cold air being sucked underneath.