I have lived most of my life in Bangalore and the weather in Bangalore for the most part is very pleasant. Whether its summer or monsoons it rarely hit extremes and winter if you can call it winter is pretty much pleasant too.

I have seen some extremes of weather during my mountaineering stint wherein all of us were even instructed to sleep with one eye and ear open for you never knew when the weather could turn for the worse. And it could very quickly turn into a life or death situation. I also dealt with continuous rains during some of my monsoon treks where I slept, ate and took a crap pretty much in the rain.

But nothing prepared me for the kind of weather patterns out here in Virginia. My brain is not used to processing or even registering Storm, Flood and Tornado warnings whilst at home watching TV and having to react immediately in some form or the other. I have had a couple of those happen already and have been fortunate enough to be residing in a safer area. Looking at the news footage and seeing the damage some of these tornadoes and storms did to nearby locations is an eye opener and testament to the immense strength these storms possess.

On Wednesday, I was busy studying when the light started to fade and it became dark. I went out on the porch and could see lightning everywhere. I was witnessing rapid weather changes unlike any I had experienced before. One lighting strike after another, loud clapping thunder, 58+ mph wind speed and it started to rain cats and dogs within minutes. Every time there was lighting I heard a beep on the alarm as it shorted followed by very loud thunder.

I rescue the plants on the porch and rush inside to switch on the TV to see the weather report for any warnings. The power goes out but comes back immediately and I don’t know what is happening for now I was waiting for the cable box from Comcast to boot. I could not even get online for the computer was rebooting too.

My wife calls from work and tells me that there is a Tornado and Severe Thunder Storm warning for Alexandria. Since Anju is at day care and we get worried. I get ready so I could leave to pick up Anju as soon as the weather showed any signs of calming down.

About twenty minutes or so pass and the weather seems to calm a bit and I head out. It was a five minute drive to the day care and the only trouble I had was at a four way intersection where the traffic lights were out.

The day care provider A had huddled herself and the kids in the kitchen (the innermost room and away from all the windows) waiting for the weather to get better. I inform her that the Tornado warning was off now but the Severe Thunder Storm warning was still on. I pick up Anju and get back home.

Once home I glue myself to the television as reports came in – traffic jams, falling trees, power outs and tornado and severe thunder storm warnings for many other places. The storm was moving quickly and the picture and audio froze… I had lost the feed.

The storm knocked out power and tv cables in many places. It wasn’t restored until yesterday evening. I was glad that I still had power.