A warning about what can come at you quickly and without much warning.
Yesterday evening we had a huge storm cell develop here. I had to drive from South of Madison, WI out to Dodgeville (due west, about 60miles). I looked at the weather forecast and radar. Nothing showing at all. clear skies and hot, with a cold front coming in at about 10pm. I figured there was a chance of a thunderstorm with that cold front hitting our hot/humid air, but nothing was showing atm. It was 92F when I left.
So I headed out. About 20minutes out the western sky started to boil. That's the only way I can describe it. Boil. Suddenly there were clouds building in the west...BIG BLACK clouds. They just exploded from a clear sky. By the time I got another 5 miles (on hwy 12/18 for those that know the area the sky to the west had gone quickly from clear, to extreme black..and it was coming East pretty quickly. And then it was over me.
Yea GODS and Little Fishes! The skies just OPENED and poured down rain. From nothing to "I can't see the road" in about 30 seconds. Turned on the flashers and slowed down but kept going...directly into the heart of a super cell.
Went from the rain pouring down, to a lighter rain, then back into the torrential downpour. Then the winds hit. All of a sudden I had trouble staying on the road..thought I had a flat at first, and then noticed the trees were bent over. Okay...wind. lots of it. Still black skies. I mean BLACK
Winds died down suddenly, but the sky above me was...odd. The rain slacked off , too. I could look at the skies and saw, to my horror, they were moving. You could see wispy clouds at the bottom of the blackness moving...to the right...forming a circle. a BIG circle. Yup. I was directly under a forming vortex. I floored the gas pedal.
By this time I was listening to a local channel on the radio and there was a sudden "weather warning" about a huge thunderstorm forming in Iowa county (where I was). well. NO KIDDING!
Then the hail started. With another downpour. The road was a river. The ditches on the sides were filled with water. and then...the lightening. WOW, the lightening was really nasty. At times so bright and close it blinded me for a second. Fortunately it didn't actually hit the ground anywhere close.
That storm went from a clear sky, and within 20minutes was the nastiest thing I've ever seen. Bar none. (granted, I've not been in a hurricane). It was HUGE by the time it formed over me, and it kept growing. I called Michael to tell him "either leave work NOW or stay there 'cuz you don't wnat to be on the road" (he's in Madison).
It's now 65F...from 92 to 65 in 30minutes and 20miles.
While on the phone, I hear another weather warning that says there is a tornado forming over Verona(west of Madison) and it touched down...so I tell him about it..he warns the others in the building. So they battened down the hatches..and just in time.
This morning I've been looking at NOAA and other weather sources and see that the storm dumped 6.5inches at it's worst(where it actually formed). by the time it hit Madison, it was more WIND damage, but still a lot of rain.
On the way home again (about 10pm) I followed the storm and watched the lightening show. VERY lovely. the ground was covered in water at first, then toward the east I started to see wind damage, and lots of it. Spots of total darkness where an electric line went down..and there would be ONE house with lights.
found out later that the storm had sustained winds of 80mph, golfball size hail, and lots of lightening strikes.
So. How quickly can YOU prepare for these sudden storms? I'm pretty good at reading weather, but this one caught me flat footed.
(and a lot of luck - Wisconsin Ann)
flashlights, generators, etc. The local news team in the AM was talking about how ill prepared they were...no working flashlights. Afraid meat would spoil. No idea if electric would come back on. And the one said her weather radio didn't work only to find out it was without batteries because someone had borrowed them. 
