302nd post: storm of the century

Last night was perhaps the most intense storm I've seen thus far in South Africa. I was woken up at about 1:30 by a text message wondering if my roof had blown off (quote: "it sounds like the earth is splitting apart here") but as my friend is about 75 km away, the worst hadn't hit me yet. This was extremely lucky, as practically every piece of clothing I own was outside on the line. I grabbed my flashlight/cell phone and rounded those up quickly. Outside, the lightning was nearly constantly flashing to the south. It looked like a club light show, or an intense IMAX movie, or perhaps the siege of Leningrad.

A few minutes later, the storm started in earnest. Howling wind, rain, and then hail, which sounded like ball bearings dropped from a great height. Sleep was out of the question, so I just sat up and listened. With all the bricks I've put up there, the roof seemed to hold steady, so it was just a few minor leaks that weren't as bad as I've put 500 mL of caulk in the roof in the last couple weeks. All in all, an exciting show, but I wish I had got more than three hours of sleep.

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