late night/very early morning april in ann arbor
waking up to sirens/alarms
the storm came quickly
a tornado touched us
for a few moments
leaving its mark
blew through
much to fix
lots of mess
none hurt
a win.
—
‘there are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.’
– willa cather
—
photo credit: kai pertainen, ann arbor, mi, usa, april 15, 2026
on the farm
on the roof
in the banks
on the house
under the snow
outside of the garage door
outside on Mackinac Island
volunteer firefighters and Mackinac Marine Rescue Crew dig out the school
—
i’d planned to head up north to visit family this week
but I took a look at the weather
decided I’ll wait a week or so
some parts of the north were hit with a 100 year storm
especially in the upper peninsula
where the yoopers are a hardy lot.
—
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, unseasonable weather is the result of a conflict between Titania and Oberon, queen and king of the fairies.
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems’ thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world
By their increase now knows not which is which.
– William Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
—
photo credits- Northern Michiganders braving the storm
*the thunder ice cometh.
—
“thou art all ice. thy kindness freezes.”
-william shakespeare
—
*Yes, Thunder Ice is a real thing.
Thundersnow is so last year.
This week in the U.S. there have been a few reports of “thunder ice” or “thunder-freezing rain.” It’s basically a thunderstorm during freezing rain or sleet.
“It’s not something we see very often, but it does happen from time to time and that’s what we experienced across the country,” said Chris Bowman, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “It’s fairly unusual,” he said. “You get pretty heavy rainfall rates and obviously with temperatures below freezing it happens.”
How does all of this happen? Convection — upward motion of air — helps produce thunderstorms. But it’s fairly rare to have convection within a winter storm. Thunder and lightning are much more common in warm-season thunderstorms. When there’s strong enough convection, along with plenty of moisture available, a winter storm can produce thundersnow. And when there’s a layer of warm air above a colder surface layer, freezing rain and sleet falls while the thunder is booming – thunder ice.
wild storm
then power out for 700,000
can’t stop this from shining through
at a lake house with a few friends
watching the storm roll in
on a peaceful afternoon.
—
“there is peace even in the storm”
-vincent van gogh, the letters of vincent van gogh
high window at home, in the storm.
—
“early impressions are like glimpses
seen through the window by night
when lightning is about.”
– e.f. benson
windows open
to the breezy rain
stormy waters rolling onto shore
and i’m soon to be
sleeping by a dock in the bay.
—
“water is the driving force of all nature.”
-leonardo da vinci
—
traverse bay, traverse city, michigan, usa – summer 2018
march.
storming in like a buffalo
and out like a wing?
“february makes a bridge and march breaks it. “
– Witts Recreations, Selected from the Finest Fancies of Moderne Muses, with a Thousand Outlandish Proverbs (edited by George Herbert, 1593–1633)
==
image credit: tom murphy, Yellowstone Park Buffalo, “Frozen Snow”
the kinders begin the process of digging out their cars
and clearing the road after the storm.
—
“it is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”
-lucius annaeus seneca
kind of funny
that the weather channel on tv
that was supposed to warn me
about incoming dangerous storms
wasn’t working right
because of the incoming dangerous storms.
every so often
a word like ‘severe’ would pop up
and disappear back into the screen
hope it wasn’t saying,
‘turn this off and take cover immediately!’
or
‘if you can see this, you are in harm’s way!’
at least i lived to tell the tale
and that is still working for me.
—
“weather forecast for tonight: dark.”
-george carlin
I didn't have my glasses on.... 