Friday, May 11, 2007

Orange Light, Sailors Delight?

Classic Supercell Thunderstorm Illustration from the NOAA Web site
Woke up at 5:30 this morning to my apartment awash in this strange orange light. I rubbed my eyes thinking I was, perhaps, in some sort of dream state when I heard the tell-tell rumble of an approaching thunderstorm.

You've probably experienced the approach of an afternoon t-storm where the air turns cadaver green, the humidity suddenly switches to tropical, the taste of ozone flirts with the back of your tongue, and everything kind of slows down. It's an ominious moment, punctuated by schizophrenic rumbles from the sky, some low, some loud, some near, some far. It's almost unreal.

Swap the cadaver colored air with Amber Vision™ colored air and you've got what was going on this morning in Red Hook. I don't know how long the storm lasted because I went back to bed after going to the window to take a looksee, but there were some pretty impressive lightning/thunderclap combos.

It made me remember the fact that I have yet to obtain the final piece of my gear for the trip--the waterproof jacket. If anyone wants to recommend a lightweight option, a very lightweight option, let me know.

No comments: