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05/22/2008: "Wicked Weather"
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One of the few complaints you'll ever hear about living in Southern California is that there is no real weather. This usually comes from the many folks who came here from the Midwest or East Coast - usually to avoid the very weather they claim to miss. It's never too hot, never too cold, and there's seldom anything that would remind them of the homes they left behind.
Usually.
After work yesterday, I tossed the bike on the rack and headed to the beach for a nice shoreline ride. THe sun was shining and there was a slight seabreeze, with just a few puffy clouds to spoil an otherwise blue sky. On my way home, however, the newsradio folks were a-twitter with the story of wild weather only a few miles north and east of where I was. I was amazed to hear the stories they were telling - an inch of rain falling in less than an hour, two inches of hail on the ground in some places, snow shutting down some of the mountain passes (in May!), and - most amazing for SoCal - reports of a twister on the ground out in Riverside. Wouldn't have believed that last one if they didn't get the picture you see at left, showing one funnel touching down and several others forming behind it. The most damage was done alongside Interstate 215, just south of the old March Air Force Base. It was pretty tame compared to what we see elsewhere (including Denver today), but pretty frightening nonetheless.
As if just to drive home the point, I hadn't been home for 10 minutes when the skies opened over the Home Office, dropping nearly an inch of rain in less than 30 minutes. The most amazing part was that the sun was shining the whole time!
