Ka-boom

In the San Francisco area, we have two seasons:  the dry season, from April/May to November, and the rainy season, from November to March.  They rarely overlap - it almost never rains during the late spring, summer or early fall.  And we can have day after day after day of rain in the winter. 


What we don't have is thunderstorms.  I've been here almost 30 years, and I can count the number I have seen on one hand.  It's one of the great reasons to go back east or somewhere like Chicago; when I do, I hope and hope I'll get to see a big lightning storm.

So imagine the surprise in our pitch-black house at 5:30 this morning, everyone sleeping soundly, when a huge flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a crashing thunder clap.  Our dog panicked like there was no tomorrow.  This went on for about 30 minutes, with 5 or 6 large lightning bolts and big boomers immediately following.

The sky at sunrise (I went off to the gym) was full of the types of clouds we don't see here often:

What a nice way to start the weekend.