Severe Thunderstorm on July 21st, 2016 Will Be A Day We Remember For Years

How is it that the worst storms are usually the ones that catch you completely off guard?  That was the case in the early hours this morning.  I woke up a little after 3 am, not realizing exactly what had woke me.  A few minutes later I heard a slight rumble.  Just a garden variety thunderstorm, I figured.

But then something happened.  I closed my eyes to go back to sleep, but the rumbles got louder.  The storm was approaching.  I still wasn't concerned until I started seeing rapid flashes.  It was so bright and so fast that I thought there was some type of man made strobe light out in the street.  I've never seen lightning flash that rapidly in succession.  But it was lightning, and it was angry.  Thunder shook the house, the wind came in bursts.  Sheets of rain came pouring down.

By this time I had grabbed my phone and looked up the National Weather Service and saw that we were in a warning until 4am.  My wife and I crouched over to the window and looked out the backyard and saw it covered with tree branches.

Our 8 year old was up, scared as hell because he already has a fear of thunderstorms, and this one took the cake.

Our 2 year old was fast asleep.  First time she's slept through the night in days.  Go figure.

I drove in to work, dodging downed branches along the way.  It was the first time in working here for 10 years that we didn't have power for the whole morning.  As of typing this, the transmitter is still down at the antenna farm, along with many others.

So add July 21st, 2016 to the list of historic Duluth storms.  It'll be one to remember.