Saul Trabal
EF4
I happen to drive a school bus for a living. It was around 3 p.m., and I was dropping off my kids in different parts of Newark, New Jersey. There were earlier reports of some severe storms north of me, and I heard we might get some in our area today.
Looking towards the west, the clouds had thickened, and the cloud base turned into an ominous dark blue-gray. It looked like we were in for a violent thunderstorm. Little did I expect how violent.
I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio), on AM. Even though I didn't see any lightning flashes yet, I could hear the discharges crackling over the AM radio. The clouds grew even darker, and the wind picked up. Light drops of rain began to fall. I continued to drop off my kids, one by one.
The crackling began to increase in intensity on the radio, and I started to see lightning. It grew more numerous and more intense-many of the strikes being CGs. And then, the sky opened up.
It was as if someone had decided to move Niagra Falls over our area. It was a furious, driving rainstorm-with rain so intense that the visibility was near zero. Then, I heard something hammering on the body of the bus-it was pea-sized hail. Powerful winds buffeted my van. Lightning flashes lit the sky, loud peals of thunder cascading through my surroundings like an avalanche. Even though I had my wipers on at full speed, it was almost impossible to see.
I had two kids left. I was able to drop them off quickly, near the entrance to their homes. They went inside. The crackling on the AM radio was almost non-stop. Sometimes I'd see a lightning flash associated with the crackling-other times, there was no flash.
The storm knocked out power in some parts of Newark, and created extensive flooding. I saw one utility pole that had nearly been knocked over, and the street had been closed off.
Oh-no funnel clouds.
But given how strong this cell was, seeing one wouldn't have surprised me.
It was a cool experience.
8)
Looking towards the west, the clouds had thickened, and the cloud base turned into an ominous dark blue-gray. It looked like we were in for a violent thunderstorm. Little did I expect how violent.
I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio), on AM. Even though I didn't see any lightning flashes yet, I could hear the discharges crackling over the AM radio. The clouds grew even darker, and the wind picked up. Light drops of rain began to fall. I continued to drop off my kids, one by one.
The crackling began to increase in intensity on the radio, and I started to see lightning. It grew more numerous and more intense-many of the strikes being CGs. And then, the sky opened up.
It was as if someone had decided to move Niagra Falls over our area. It was a furious, driving rainstorm-with rain so intense that the visibility was near zero. Then, I heard something hammering on the body of the bus-it was pea-sized hail. Powerful winds buffeted my van. Lightning flashes lit the sky, loud peals of thunder cascading through my surroundings like an avalanche. Even though I had my wipers on at full speed, it was almost impossible to see.
I had two kids left. I was able to drop them off quickly, near the entrance to their homes. They went inside. The crackling on the AM radio was almost non-stop. Sometimes I'd see a lightning flash associated with the crackling-other times, there was no flash.
The storm knocked out power in some parts of Newark, and created extensive flooding. I saw one utility pole that had nearly been knocked over, and the street had been closed off.
Oh-no funnel clouds.

It was a cool experience.
8)