The extreme ferocity of the storm was what made it unusual, in all of its demonstrative elements.
First off, it was an extraordinarily hot and muggy day, the high hitting a record of 33-degrees centigrade for this date. We'd had a hot and hazy, humid day, lots of sun beaming down to make it truly uncomfortable for those who had no means of escape from the scorching heat.

There was an extreme weather watch out for violent thunderstorms for the afternoon. Sure enough, by half-past four the sun had gone and in its place gradually darkening skies. And then, the day was transformed from bright, humid and sunny to overwhelmingly dark. We'd never before seen the atmosphere so altered, as to appear completely black in an oncoming storm.

The volume of rain that began to fall, striking right against the back of the house made us very thankful indeed that my husband had completed re-installing our bedroom window yesterday; that timing at least was perfect. We rushed to the front of the house to watch the rain pelting down in the light falling from the light standard we have installed in the front gardens, bright against the prevailing darkness.

Then we rushed to the back of the house where we watched the rain coming down in heavy sheets of relentless onrush, to suddenly hear the pinging of hailstones against the back windows. Large as small marbles, some of them, causing concern that they might ping a little too destructively against the glazing.

Throughout this drama the thunderous claps of persistent clashes between clouds alerted us to the obvious; that this was an unusual storm of unusual intensity, with lightning slashing the sky menacingly, alternating with the rumbling thunder. Our two little dogs were oblivious to all of this, sleeping peacefully throughout the storm.

When it was finally over, we ventured outside to look about the garden, at the rose canes that had been brought down, needing to be tied up, the ornamental trees and shrubs that seemed to have shifted, leaning at an angle that we hoped would be corrected as they dried, the peonies, irises and geraniums that looked fairly distressed. Tomorrow's another day; then we'll conduct a more intensive inventory.

But we were fortunate this time around; tens of thousands have lost their power and will have to wait until Sunday for it to be restored. There was plenty of basement flooding in the area. On a nearby main street access was closed off and some wit had a raft floating in the middle of the road where buses and cars were stalled on the side.