A comfortably uneventful day, though an inconvenient one for us, but an entirely different story for people living in a community west of the city centre, today. This has been an uncommon day of totally restive weather conditions. From early morning the wind has been harshly wild. But even before that, there were heavy downpours throughout the night, and although the temperature is the lowest it's been in weeks, the humidity is so thick it hangs drippingly hot and heavy over the atmosphere.

 

It took little time while the landscape was drying itself out from the overnight rain, aided by the hot wind, before the cloud ceiling of an innocuous pewter turned to an angry grey-black extensive bruise of a threat in gathering storm clouds. And we certainly knew the weather meant business when soon enough thunder rumbled overhead and Jackie and Jillie began challenging the thunder god.

 

Apart from the house turning dark as night and the approaching storm, a severe weather warning went out that included a tornado watch scheduled for the Ottawa/Gatineau area; Ontario and Quebec, an area known as the National Capital region. Until a few years back we'd never known that tornadoes could touch down here. They have, and the results have been spectacularly bad for those living in the paths of those grey whirling funnel demons.

 

It soon enough became obvious as one thunder storm after another clapped its way through our landscape that we weren't likely to get out in the ravine today. In between storms we were able to take Jackie and Jillie out briefly for relief trips, but they had no inclination to spend any more time than necessary on the sodden grass of the backyard. 

 

We heard at about 2:00 p.m. that a tornado had touched down in a community to the west of us and fifty homes sustained damage. One person ended up in hospital. Homes had holes torn in their roofs, shingles were peeled off roofs, and siding off the sides of houses. Windows were shattered by the force of the raging wind. For those in the midst of the maelstrom the terrifying experience didn't last long, but the impression they lived through certainly will.

First responders like firefighters and police and paramedics were quick to respond to the effects of the tornado. As they did, they found that people were driving into the area to ogle the damage imposed by nature on the urban landscape and those who inhabit it. Police and municipal authorities appealed to people to retreat from the area where they don't live, and for people generally to take shelter from the wild elements of today's weather scene.