pros and cons of rainstorms in DC

During my years in Texas, we had the most awesome thunderstorms. Seriously. The best. The thunder would be so loud and so powerful the walls shook, and there would be these brilliant, flashing patterns lighting up the sky for only seconds at a time. And sometimes the power would go out for an hour, maybe two. Which meant a fire in the fireplace and candles lit around the room. And maybe a board game or two (and yes, only for a couple of hours. I can’t imagine any longer than that!).

It was great. And those storms I miss. Here in DC, the storms can seem…a little more milder. There may be only a clash or two or thunder, from what I can hear. And I don’t think it could be mistaken for Thor’s giant hammer, since I usually have to stop and wonder “was that thunder? Or was that an upstairs neighbor dropping something heavy?”

And then there is of course the walking in the rain. Last week I was drenched. Drowned rat? Yes, that’s exactly what I looked like. The plus side is that these sort of torrential downpours don’t quite have the staying power. Take this evening for example. I waited out the rain for about ten minutes in the lobby of my office building. Then it let up enough to walk home, and by the time I was home…it had stopped.

So what’s the pro? Other than stamina when it comes to walking outside, of course. The weather. For the most part, there are more cooler days in DC than in Texas where I can open my windows and just listen to the rain pour, with a fairly cool breeze coming in. Best morning and evening, is there in a cool room with my down comforter and the sound of rain pouring down outside.

Kind of wish it was still raining now.