The Weather and Walt Disney World…

I lived in Orlando Florida for 6 months. And the thing I noticed about the rain is it could be pouring so bad you can't see why driving. And 30 minutes later its total sunshine for the rest of the day. I don't remember it raining all day too many times.

Greg
 
I write this while lightning is cracking down once every 2-3 seconds outside - lights are occasionally blinking off, and my internet connection is popping on and off. We're just getting the beginning of a heavy thunderstorm - it's almost night-dark outside. It was sunny and hot all day. This is the typical Florida summer pattern - the hotter, sunnier,a nd more humid it is during the day, the more likely you're going to see that afternoon 'boomer' well up by 2-3pm, rip through with intensity, dropping lightning bolts by the hundreds, light hail, 40MPH winds, and 2-3 inches of rain per hour...and by 30-45 minutes later, it's wet, humid, and clearing. Ow - there goes a big lightning crack right outside the window!
 
We lived in Clearwater and Dunedin for a few years. Lightening struck our yard at least once a year. It's no joke down there; people need to be extremely cautious. I would pull the kids in the house if I heard thunder, even if the storm was over the bay. Lightening can, and does, travel outside of the "storm" area.
 
And, the storm here is over. But more might be creeping our way.

The easiest thing in the world to be is a weatherman in Florida in the summer. You can record the daily forecast for every day from June 1 to September 1 all on the same afternoon, store them on tape, and just run them during the news broadcast each day. Forecast: 90 degrees, feels like 95, humidity 90%, chance of rain 50%. Done! You just covered the entire summer. ;)
 
I had a house down in Naples for 20 years, and it was struck by lightning 3 times. Once it shattered several roof tiles and burned a fist sized hole thru the tar paper and roofing plywood. If it hadn't been raining so hard it probably would have continued to burn.

The weather in Florida demands respect.

Erich
 
5 strikes on my house, over 30 years of living here. 70-foot palm tree in back yard blown in half and lit on fire one time, PVC sprinkler pipes melted and holes in awning one time, 3 TVs burned out one time, 6 lightbulbs physically exploded one time, and quite a few electronics over the years killed (DVD players, VCRs, phones, cable boxes, etc) despite being plugged into surge protectors.
Most memorable lightning experience: age 14. A friend and I were getting ready to go swimming at a clubhouse pool - grey clouds in the far distance, thunder could be lightly heard, but nothing close, so we figured no problem. Put down our towels, took off our shirts, stood on the pool rim at the deep end getting ready to dive in, crouched at the knees, counting down 3...2...1...then just before we jumped...BOOOM! FLASH! Lightning struck the lightpost at the far end of the pool, about 60 feet from us. After we dropped back out of the sky and into our awaiting skin below...leaving our hearts somewhere still above, we ran like roaches when the lights go on and skittered onto the clubhouse patio. It took a few minutes to remember how to breathe, and go find our hearts lying out on the deck and put them back into our chests. Needless to say, lesson learned...If I can HEAR thunder, I'm out of the pool!
 
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