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Afternoon Storms

June 20, 2013

Here in Georgia, it’s common for us to get a quick thunderstorm in the afternoon during the summer. They’re always a welcomed relief from the sticky-hot weather.

First the sun will disappear behind a cloud and the sky quickly gets dark. A light breeze comes through, smelling of sweet magnolia and cool rain. You can hear the rain falling before you see it. Sometimes it comes in so fast-like a sheet being pulled over the sky. It cools the air and your skin. Watching the gray rain coming down against the green of the trees and grass is so calming to the soul. Then it’s gone, as quickly as it came. The rain stops. The soaked trees drip slower and slower. The sound of thunder fades away. The sun bursts out from behind a cloud and heats up the ground so fast, you’ll see the steam rising up from it.

I’ve always loved these storms. When I worked summers outside at Stone Mountain’s Historic Square, I would pray for an afternoon storm. (And a break from the constant flow of people.) I often got caught in the rain in different spots around the attraction. I’d duck under a porch, watch the rain and wait it out.  
I really missed seeing the storm roll in during the years I worked in a corporate setting. But even though I was inside, I still felt different during an afternoon storm. The windows would grow dark and it seemed like everyone in the office would slow down just a bit.
Now that I’m home with Graham, I get to watch the afternoon storms again. Graham naps and I sit by the big front window and sip on a cup of coffee. We’ve got tall, green magnolia trees with big white blooms and bright blue hydrangeas in the yard-it’s such a gorgeous sight to watch them sway as the storm comes in and drip as the storm blows out.

Love those rainy Georgia afternoons.

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