Hailstorm in San Antonio....
A couple of days back, my uncle got a chance to watch some of the videos which i recorded in my New Mexico trip. When I spoke to him, he seem to have got surprised by seeing the way I walked over a frozen lake. I think he got a little scared too and was worried a lot about my safety. He was advising me to take care of myself and not to take a lot of risks to have some fun. But he also reiterated that it should not stop me from visiting places. From what I understood, he wanted me to have a lot of fun, but taking calculated risk.
Yesterday, I came back from my work at around 9pm and took a little nap in my couch. Then I woke up at around 10:25pm for a telecon with my offshore counterparts. After the telecon, I went to office to send some files to offshore. On my way back home, I felt a little bored and as I sometimes do, I went for a short drive. When I was about to turn back, I had to stop my car to attend an offshore call, in a parking lot some 1mile from my apartment.
While I was talking to my offshore counterparts, there was a little storm and it started raining. It was raining heavily and that made me decide to go back to my apartment and then call offshore. So I asked my offshore to continue the discussion after i go home. I started driving back, when all these nature's scary beauty happened.
It hardly would have took 2-3mins for me to reach my apartment, but just with in 30 secs, the rainfall was so heavy, with the wind exceeding beyond a limit. I turned on the wiper, but could hardly see the road, the lanes or even the cars that was going infront of me. After hearing the sounds of the series of thunder, I realised that this is not going to be a normal rain. Since i couldnt see the road i was driving very slowly (probably less than 5mph).
All of a sudden I could see some small hail stones that were falling and then it got wilder. It was exciting to see the hail storm for the first time in my life. I was admiring nature's beauty, without knowing what is there in store for me. Within a short while the size of the hailstones were becoming bigger and bigger. I had to stop the car because I couldnt see anything. I switched on my parking lights so that vehicles coming behind me can see my car and stop before hitting. But stopping the car right in the middle of the road (or so i thought, because i am not sure in which lane the car was) seemed to be not a good idea. And more over it is just a minute away from my apartment. I made a worst decision. I decided to go to my apartment rather than stopping there.
Gopi, my roomie, called me in my mobile to enquire where I was. He also informed me that there is a power shutdown. I then realized that there is no street lights either. I told him where i was and all those i was seeing. He adviced me to stop right somewhere safe and wait till the storms get over. But I couldn't pull over to some place where I can wait for sometime. So I decided to proceed towards my apartment and thought I can pull over in some apartment entrance on the way.
I was driving slowly without knowing in which lane I was driving. Since the hail stones were falling mostly on the windshield, I thought if i take the right turn into the road that leads to my apartment, then I might get a good vision of the road and so I can drive home quickly. I proceeded further with hardly any idea where I was and luckily there were some sign boards that showed me some way. There I saw a board showing "USAA Blvd" where I had to take right. I took right and was close to hitting the median, but somehow managed to miss it by few inches.
The moment I turned into USAA Blvd, the hailstorm slowed down a bit and so I decided to drive all the way to my apartment. The other alternative that i was thinking was to pull over in Hubner Oaks' entrance (Hubner Oaks is an apartment where Dharma, my ex-PL is living). After i gone past Hubner Oaks entrance and then Dove Valley's (next apartment) entrance, the storm become wild again. The next apartment is ours and so I decided to go further.
Between Dove Valley and my apartment, there are few curls and ups and downs in the road. So I need to see the road to drive to my apartment, but i could hardly see anything. I was having my wipers on, but i could see only the wipers after my windsheild and nothing else. The water splashes were so heavy that I couldnt see anything through the windsheild.
A couple of seconds later, I saw a huge silver gray street light post, right in front of my left headlight. I was shocked, scared and so I stopped the car. If the post was between the two headlights, it might not have been visible. I was thinking why the hell on earth there is a street light right in my way. I looked around on the sides of my car and then realized that i was actually driving on the median that splits the left and right side of the road. Yes, i was not driving on the road. Since there was a severe thunder and hail stone fall, I decided to take reverse and pull over in the entrance of Dove valley.
I took a reverse without know which direction i am driving and got off the median and went into the road. The road was a little deep in that place and water was rushing from my left to right, pushing my car a little towards right. I got so scared thinking that I will be thrown away into the bushes and might get lost. So I wanted to take a turn around or a reverse. Turnaround seemed easy. So i moved the car towards right side and then went close to the walkway. Since I was close to walkway, the car stopped moving sideways as the water wasnt rushing heavily there.
I was hoping that the car engine doesnt stop there. But I did not want to take a chance. I dont even know how much water will rush in and how much higher the water level can get to. I wanted to go back to Dove Valley's entrance as that is a lot steeper than where I was.
Meanwhile, the stones kept on falling and the lightning was also continuous and bright. The sound of the stone hitting the car was so high that i heard it like a the thunder sound. Remember, i am the only person inside that car. It was scary and exciting to experience all these. Iwas thinking that if the hail stones get even bigger, it might break the windsheild or the windows and i might get drenched in the water. Ooops, if windsheild or windows broke then the hailsotnes will fall directly on me and.... I stopped thinking about it as it was more scary. I wanted to do something rather than waiting there and letting things happen.
I turned towards my left and went over the median and went to the other side of the road. There was a sign board that said School Zone Limit 20mph. What the hell!!! I couldnt drive anything more than 5-10mph. I made a wild guess and took left and wanted to enter the Dove Valley. I could see the entrance only when the lightning flashes. I took the left and headed towards the steep road and I finally climbed up and parked the car right in front of the apartment.
Now I know i am in a safe place, apart from the fact that it is not really safe because the lightning can hit directly there. I called up Gopi and informed him that I am in a safe place. Now I switched off the music (yes, i was listening to songs from Gilli when I was going through all these) and switched on the A/C's. Why because i want to see and admire nature's work.
Wow... The hailstones were making a lot of noise that they produced more sound while hitting the car than the actual thunder themselves. I could see lightning in three different colors, green, blue and white. That was the first time that i had ever seen such kind of lightning in my entire life. Believe me, all the adventure was worth it. What if there was a gal right next to me at that time. She would have been more scared and would have ended up hugging me tightly. (karpanaikku onnum alavey illa. hmmm.) Okay guys, for those of you who know me, believe me, there was no one else in that car.
When everything got to a moderate level, i decided to head towards my apartment. I started driving and again switched on my audios to play 'Arjunaru villu' song. When i reached the entrance of my apartment, the flagpost had fallen down blocking my way in. When such a song is playing, you cannot stop the car for this silly blocking. I ran over the flag post and headed in and parked the car right in the middle of the road (which i parked in the parking space after the rain) and went in.
Today afternoon when i was coming home for my lunch, i drove till Dove Valley to see where exactly i was stopping the last night and to see the street light post which i had almost hit and the walkway which stopped me from getting carried away in flood. They were all silent as if nothing happened there.
It was very scary, adventurous and beautiful night that i have ever faced. This would be one of the most unforgettable days in my entire life. A golf ball sized hail stone and their thundering sound, tricolor (not the indian flag tricolor. this is just some 3 colors) lightning and heavy rain and storm were the highlights of natures beauty.
Now that I have faced all these all alone, i am all the more ready to face more of these. But remembering my uncle's advise, i will not take such risks again. Neither should any of you. If you happen to be in a hail storm, just stay where you are, unless and untill you really have to move off from that place.
Yesterday, I came back from my work at around 9pm and took a little nap in my couch. Then I woke up at around 10:25pm for a telecon with my offshore counterparts. After the telecon, I went to office to send some files to offshore. On my way back home, I felt a little bored and as I sometimes do, I went for a short drive. When I was about to turn back, I had to stop my car to attend an offshore call, in a parking lot some 1mile from my apartment.
While I was talking to my offshore counterparts, there was a little storm and it started raining. It was raining heavily and that made me decide to go back to my apartment and then call offshore. So I asked my offshore to continue the discussion after i go home. I started driving back, when all these nature's scary beauty happened.
It hardly would have took 2-3mins for me to reach my apartment, but just with in 30 secs, the rainfall was so heavy, with the wind exceeding beyond a limit. I turned on the wiper, but could hardly see the road, the lanes or even the cars that was going infront of me. After hearing the sounds of the series of thunder, I realised that this is not going to be a normal rain. Since i couldnt see the road i was driving very slowly (probably less than 5mph).
All of a sudden I could see some small hail stones that were falling and then it got wilder. It was exciting to see the hail storm for the first time in my life. I was admiring nature's beauty, without knowing what is there in store for me. Within a short while the size of the hailstones were becoming bigger and bigger. I had to stop the car because I couldnt see anything. I switched on my parking lights so that vehicles coming behind me can see my car and stop before hitting. But stopping the car right in the middle of the road (or so i thought, because i am not sure in which lane the car was) seemed to be not a good idea. And more over it is just a minute away from my apartment. I made a worst decision. I decided to go to my apartment rather than stopping there.
Gopi, my roomie, called me in my mobile to enquire where I was. He also informed me that there is a power shutdown. I then realized that there is no street lights either. I told him where i was and all those i was seeing. He adviced me to stop right somewhere safe and wait till the storms get over. But I couldn't pull over to some place where I can wait for sometime. So I decided to proceed towards my apartment and thought I can pull over in some apartment entrance on the way.
I was driving slowly without knowing in which lane I was driving. Since the hail stones were falling mostly on the windshield, I thought if i take the right turn into the road that leads to my apartment, then I might get a good vision of the road and so I can drive home quickly. I proceeded further with hardly any idea where I was and luckily there were some sign boards that showed me some way. There I saw a board showing "USAA Blvd" where I had to take right. I took right and was close to hitting the median, but somehow managed to miss it by few inches.
The moment I turned into USAA Blvd, the hailstorm slowed down a bit and so I decided to drive all the way to my apartment. The other alternative that i was thinking was to pull over in Hubner Oaks' entrance (Hubner Oaks is an apartment where Dharma, my ex-PL is living). After i gone past Hubner Oaks entrance and then Dove Valley's (next apartment) entrance, the storm become wild again. The next apartment is ours and so I decided to go further.
Between Dove Valley and my apartment, there are few curls and ups and downs in the road. So I need to see the road to drive to my apartment, but i could hardly see anything. I was having my wipers on, but i could see only the wipers after my windsheild and nothing else. The water splashes were so heavy that I couldnt see anything through the windsheild.
A couple of seconds later, I saw a huge silver gray street light post, right in front of my left headlight. I was shocked, scared and so I stopped the car. If the post was between the two headlights, it might not have been visible. I was thinking why the hell on earth there is a street light right in my way. I looked around on the sides of my car and then realized that i was actually driving on the median that splits the left and right side of the road. Yes, i was not driving on the road. Since there was a severe thunder and hail stone fall, I decided to take reverse and pull over in the entrance of Dove valley.
I took a reverse without know which direction i am driving and got off the median and went into the road. The road was a little deep in that place and water was rushing from my left to right, pushing my car a little towards right. I got so scared thinking that I will be thrown away into the bushes and might get lost. So I wanted to take a turn around or a reverse. Turnaround seemed easy. So i moved the car towards right side and then went close to the walkway. Since I was close to walkway, the car stopped moving sideways as the water wasnt rushing heavily there.
I was hoping that the car engine doesnt stop there. But I did not want to take a chance. I dont even know how much water will rush in and how much higher the water level can get to. I wanted to go back to Dove Valley's entrance as that is a lot steeper than where I was.
Meanwhile, the stones kept on falling and the lightning was also continuous and bright. The sound of the stone hitting the car was so high that i heard it like a the thunder sound. Remember, i am the only person inside that car. It was scary and exciting to experience all these. Iwas thinking that if the hail stones get even bigger, it might break the windsheild or the windows and i might get drenched in the water. Ooops, if windsheild or windows broke then the hailsotnes will fall directly on me and.... I stopped thinking about it as it was more scary. I wanted to do something rather than waiting there and letting things happen.
I turned towards my left and went over the median and went to the other side of the road. There was a sign board that said School Zone Limit 20mph. What the hell!!! I couldnt drive anything more than 5-10mph. I made a wild guess and took left and wanted to enter the Dove Valley. I could see the entrance only when the lightning flashes. I took the left and headed towards the steep road and I finally climbed up and parked the car right in front of the apartment.
Now I know i am in a safe place, apart from the fact that it is not really safe because the lightning can hit directly there. I called up Gopi and informed him that I am in a safe place. Now I switched off the music (yes, i was listening to songs from Gilli when I was going through all these) and switched on the A/C's. Why because i want to see and admire nature's work.
Wow... The hailstones were making a lot of noise that they produced more sound while hitting the car than the actual thunder themselves. I could see lightning in three different colors, green, blue and white. That was the first time that i had ever seen such kind of lightning in my entire life. Believe me, all the adventure was worth it. What if there was a gal right next to me at that time. She would have been more scared and would have ended up hugging me tightly. (karpanaikku onnum alavey illa. hmmm.) Okay guys, for those of you who know me, believe me, there was no one else in that car.
When everything got to a moderate level, i decided to head towards my apartment. I started driving and again switched on my audios to play 'Arjunaru villu' song. When i reached the entrance of my apartment, the flagpost had fallen down blocking my way in. When such a song is playing, you cannot stop the car for this silly blocking. I ran over the flag post and headed in and parked the car right in the middle of the road (which i parked in the parking space after the rain) and went in.
Today afternoon when i was coming home for my lunch, i drove till Dove Valley to see where exactly i was stopping the last night and to see the street light post which i had almost hit and the walkway which stopped me from getting carried away in flood. They were all silent as if nothing happened there.
It was very scary, adventurous and beautiful night that i have ever faced. This would be one of the most unforgettable days in my entire life. A golf ball sized hail stone and their thundering sound, tricolor (not the indian flag tricolor. this is just some 3 colors) lightning and heavy rain and storm were the highlights of natures beauty.
Now that I have faced all these all alone, i am all the more ready to face more of these. But remembering my uncle's advise, i will not take such risks again. Neither should any of you. If you happen to be in a hail storm, just stay where you are, unless and untill you really have to move off from that place.
posted by Saravanan S @ 12:40 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
IDIOT!!!! this is what my first reaction was after reading this.....
since i know you... my reaction is FINE YOU ARE ALIVE.....
Ok to add to Hema's comments IDIOT was my first comment when i called him during the Hail Strom...and i told my roomies that he will come back and write a blog on it ..and he proved it...i mean the ///idiot thing..:-)
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