Monsoon season ends,
with pelting by pea-sized hail-
Nature’s inspired show.
I don’t see hail often, so when I do, I can’t help but watch in awe. The pinging of the ice pellets on our rain gutters had an almost musical effect. The show lasted for about ten minutes and it was amazing- though I didn’t ask for an encore, because I know the damage it can cause!
A few years ago, a hailstorm hit Scottsdale. I watched helplessly from inside my office building while my car was pelted for several minutes, leaving it dimpled like a golf ball. But this wasn’t my first experience with hail in Arizona…
I don’t remember the exact year now (that’s what happens when you get old 🙂 ) but I figure it was probably 1989 or 1990, because I was in high school. My parents and I watched from the sliding door as a newly-planted mesquite tree struggled in the heavy winds. My dad went out to re-tie the stakes in hopes that it would help the tree remain upright. Then hail came and my dad was still working on it, so I decided to help hold the tree. Hail might be small, but it sure stings when it hits bare skin! When the tree was tied good enough, we dashed inside, met by my mom who supported us in her own way: she took lots of photos.
Even after being rained and hailed on, my hair still stood tall. Ah, the wonders of White Rain hairspray…
Well, that’s enough about hail. I’m working on a fiction story written for another of Emilio Pasquale’s photos. I plan on posting later in the week, so I hope you’ll come back by and check it out.
Have a beautiful week!
JannaTWrites 
Hail in Arizona? Wow –that’s brutal. I’m in Eastern Canada and hoping I don’t see any white precipitation for another month.
Hopefully your weather is better this week.
Cheers!
TyCobbsTeeth
I bet Eastern Canada has some crazy winters! You’d probably wear shorts and a t-shirt in what we consider winter 🙂 No chance of rain predicted for the week, so it looks like there’ll be no more weather excitement for a while.
I’ve cross-country skied into town for Chinese food before –right down the main street during the tail end of a storm with a buddy. Sometimes it would be two days before they were able to clean all the snow out of the core streets and open things up. Chinese food restaurant was ALWAYS open.
I think I lived in the desert way too long… I couldn’t imagine cross-country skiing anywhere but in the woods. Crazy to think you’d grab dinner that way!
Funny! Janna, someday we’ll have to compare teenage photos of ourselves. I bet I’ve got you beat on tall hair & White Rain use, though! 🙂
Glad no property (or people, most important!) was/were damaged/hurt in the storm.
I don’t know, Leigh… my hair was pretty crazy. Although, my hair was so thick, I did have some trouble reaching the height of some of my peers 🙂 No damage that I’m aware of, so it’s all good!
I heard y’all got some hail, Janna, but pictures prove it! Hope you didn’t sustain any damage from this storm — hail can really mess things up. We’re immersed in a rainy weather pattern. I so want to get outside and take Fall color photos, but getting soaked isn’t in my contract, ha!
I don’t think anything was damaged (car was in the garage!) so that’s a good thing. I love the rain, but I imagine if you’ve had a lot of it you might be ready for some sunshine… hope you get some soon, Debbie 🙂
That is funny that you mentioned that hail storm from 89-90 time frame. Although there were more than one hail storm I do remember one about that time because I was driving. I just pulled up in my yard and it started. It was bigger than pea sized but not as big as a nickel. It’s funny how memories work. We are supposed to get some weather here today. We will see what happens. Be safe and take care.
Memories are funny that way, Sean. I’ll never forget the record high 122 degree day, either… running the heater on my car so the engine didn’t overheat. Good times (not!) I hope the weather wasn’t too brutal for you today!
The weather was good. Didn’t have any sun so the storms were not there. I was out on Lake Pleasant on that lovely day lol Take care.
Glad the weather played nice, Sean!
We’re waiting for it – an hour or so.
It does bounce around a lot and ouchie!….(that’s how I used to rent apts or houses: is there a place to get the car out of the hail.)
I hope the weather wasn’t too crazy for you today, Phil! Hail is surprisingly painful, and I’ve never experienced golf ball-sized or larger. That’s just crazy! A place to keep the car is a good thing… it cost a few thousand dollars to get my car fixed. I was sad about it, too because at the time, it was only a couple years old.
This triggered a whole hailstorm of bad hail expressions … like “this was a hail of a good post – loved the photos” and “hope your week is hail and hearty” 🙂
Haha, you crack me up, Joanne! I think the title alone on this post invited such hailstorm 🙂
Both of you are pretty bad with these “hail” puns. Grow up, both of you!
Grow up? Sheesh, I think it’s a little late for that, Emilio 🙂
Probably! As long as those around us don’t mind. And even if they do…
If others mind, that’s okay… they can grow up/old without me 🙂
I will look forward to your next story! I have noticed that you haven’t been posting at Yeah Write lately and have missed you.
I do hope you come back and read it, Kathy! Thank you for noticing my absence… during Speakeasy’s summer break, I realized I was spending way too much time not only writing for the challenges, but reading and tracking the other responses. I just got tired. I may write them on an occasional basis, but not every week 🙂
It would be hard to watch your car being turned into a golf ball. Glad this hail storm was better behaved.
My brother put a new roof on his house in Colorado a year or two ago. A hail stone this year dinged it up enough that it had to be replaced again.
Oops . . . not “a hail stone” . . . “a hail storm.”
I knew what you meant 😛
I was really bummed… it was only a couple years old when that happened, Nancy. I still have the car and they were able to fix it up nice 🙂 The hail in Colorado is in a whole different league! I’m sorry your brother has to replace the roof again. I hope insurance helps.
Insurance picked up most of the tab ~ more inconvenience than bank drain.
Well at least it wasn’t inconvenient AND costly!
I reckon the main reason hail hurts so much because it has so far to fall. I think it’s called escape velocity.
Escape velocity – I hadn’t heard of that, but I Googled it. Figures it would be physics… my worst subject in school!
I have never watched hail or snow fall. It must be magical to see it i guess. Almost like fairytale
It can be pretty, Habibadanyal. I prefer soft, fluffy snowflakes to hail, though 🙂
I haven’t seen hail since I lived in the southern states, and it can make a huge mess (especially of the cars) 😦 Even so, I just love watching a good hail storm 😉
Yes, it’s a good spectator activity as long as no one or nothing gets hurt 🙂
Interesting .. the only time I have experienced really brutal hail was in Arizona.. It was in 1982, when I worked there for 8 months, and it happened in Mesa. I remember that everyone at the Motorola site was standing under the eaves of the courtyard watching in amazement the spectacular show. The hail was like being bombarded by marble pellets, and though I have seen hail here in Sweden once or twice it has never been like that time…
1982…. that was before I moved here so I missed that one, Bjorn! It doesn’t happen often, but when it does… wow!
I meant 1992 🙂
Oh! Well, I was there then, but I don’t remember that one. It’s quite likely it didn’t reach my part of town…I lived over an hour away from Mesa.
Anyone ever experience an ice storm? Just beautiful. But very dangerous. The rain freezes on tree limbs and electrical wires. The weight can then force the wire or limb to break. But it is beautiful when the sun comes out or the night time lights shine.
Nope, never seen an ice storm (I live in Arizona and really don’t travel much!) I bet it is pretty until you lose power and teeth start chattering 🙂
I love hail, and storms because – as you say – they provide such a dazzling show. Great photos!
I love the part about your hairspray hehe – yay for our 80s/90s styles!!
I can’t resist watching a good storm, but lightning does scare me a bit! And the eighties- I cringe a little when I hear about some fashion trend from the that era they are trying to bring back 🙂
Wow this is nasty business. It reminds me a bit of our icestorms that wreak untold damage.
Ice storms would be scary… none of that here in Arizona, though (I hope!)
Thankfully, we’ve never seen the large hail shown on the Weather Channel! We don’t see much of it at all, but it is a show to watch (and photograph) while it lasts.
Oh, the large hail would be scary! This hail was pretty tame in comparison 🙂
I enjoyed reading your Haiku regarding Monsoons, here is my HAIKU response:
Too Much Rain Now
We’ve prayed for the rain
To end the months of the drought.
Monsoon creates floods.
Thanks, Robin! Monsoons can be a double-edged sword… though moisture is a blessing, too much can be a disaster.