CRASH BOOM Downpour

As the concert was wrapping up, tonight, I noticed that there were some flashes of lightning showing up in the windows high above the back of the balcony. (That might make more sense if you know that the concert I was attending was a Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra concert being held in a church.)

Earlier in the evening, I had been looking up at those windows (I was seated off to the side), and thinking "I wonder what it would be like to watch a storm roll in." When I saw the lightning we were just a few minutes from the end of the concert, so I gathered up my coat and, as the applause was thundering, I made a beeline to get out the doors and to my car before the rain came.

I did pretty well. As I looked outside, I could see that it was just barely sprinkling. Nothing too bad. Some lightning from time to time and a little dampness, but that was completely manageable - especially since I had beaten 99% of the audience out of the hall.

And then... well... I've never heard the CRACK and BOOM of thunder while the flash of the lightning is still in the air.

The man who had walked out just before me was startled enough that he kind of froze in place, then turned and almost plowed right into me. We kind of looked at each other, then peeled off to go to our cars.

There were a couple of cars in the lot with their alarms going off, and a strange kind of metallic smell in the air. I did not hang around to see if anything was going to come of that primary lightning strike.

Although, as I jogged to my car, I did look back to see whether or not the top of the church steeple was on fire - that's how close it all seemed to be. I stayed mostly dry, and then drove home through intermittent downpours and some more massive lightning.

And reminded myself that this is only April.