The Storm (Denver, Colorado)

I was excited to be in a big city again. Denver, Colorado. And there was an MLS professional soccer game our first night there when the Colorado Rapids were playing, ironically, the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was going to be too late at night for Corwyn, so he and Chloe went kayaking earlier in the day on the reservoir we were camped on (Cherry Creek State Park). That left Vera and I to leave the campsite after dinner and go to the soccer game. We got there early enough to see the warmups, the introductions of the starting lineups, and the national anthems which included a brief fireworks display. Vera was enthralled by a big sporting event. I was looking forward to the rare opportunity to watch professional soccer live ... and then the announcement. "Due to an extreme weather warning, we ask all spectators to return to their cars or the covered area." But weren't the skies clear? There was a little wind but not significant. I was a little surprised but expected a brief delay and then the game would start.

Instead, Vera and I sat in our seats (which were conveniently covered and on the lee side of the wind) and listened to stadium music. After about 30 minutes, the rain and the lightning started. The rain started coming harder and more diagonal, the lightning seemed distant but it was getting closer and more frequent. Soon, there was sheet lightning on three sides of us. It was actually pretty cool to be sitting with several thousand people watching lightning and listening to rock music ("Thunderstruck" and "Raining Men" were big hits). Vera was more interested in the event than the actual soccer, so she was happy. A text message from Chloe confirmed that there was no rain at the campground, although she could see some lightning in the distance. Corwyn was sleeping happily in the tent.
Then the power went out at the stadium and the weather report changed: hail was coming. I pictured my wife and son trapped in a tent without any other cover, while Vera and I were at a stadium. Bad Dad. Time to go. About five minutes into our drive home, the hailstorm hit. I don't think I've ever experienced such a loud storm. Vera and I had to yell at each other in the car just to be heard. Sheet lightning was visible over and over, in multiple directions. I've never seen so much lightning. Road visibility deteriorated rapidly and as water pooled on the highways, lanes became rough guidelines. Cars started hydroplaning at strange angles and we were brought to a crawl as an four-lane highway was limited to one car at a time driving on the shoulder because the other lanes had too much water (or trapped cars). Some people were crawling along in their vehicles with the hazard lights on while others continued to drive the 65mph (100 km/hr) speed limit weaving in and out of lanes.
We made it back to camp to find Chloe had evacuated the tent to our neighbours car. Corwyn was in her arms still sound asleep in his sleeping bag. We hung out in our car for a while and then the lightning seemed to subside for a while, so we finally got into the tent. We were generally dry inside, although a small leak at the top of the tent led to drops of water that would consistently find my forehead no matter how I tried to dodge. Chloe had the weather radar map on her phone and it was showing a full rainbow of colours that you don't want to see from a tent. Most of the neighbours had packed up to go home (if they lived in Colorado or were hiding in their cars). The lightning didn't dissipate though and still seemed to be coming from all sides. I was always counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. After one intense blast, I barely got to "one" before the thunder struck. Time to go back to the car. This time, we had two sleeping children in sleeping bags to take with us since Vera had conked out in the tent. After another hour in the car (time is difficult to measure as you drift in and out of uncomfortable sleep), the worst of it seemed to have moved on. Again, we returned to the tent and were able to stay there until morning. When we awoke, there was little trace of the previous night's storms. Even though it was fully booked, half the campsites were now empty, and the remainder were swapping their survival stories.
Thunder and lightning are pretty rare in Victoria and can be exciting when they occur. I've seen a few bigger thunderstorms in other places around the world, but this was on a different level than I've experienced. The electrical storm (Chloe clearly differentiated it from a thunder storm) had lasted about six hours and must be generated thousands of strikes. When my phone received an emergency signal today stating "Severe Weather Warning! Go indoors!", I was worried that the next night was going to be even worse. It started raining hard while we were making dinner ... but then it stopped and there was only minimal lightning for the rest of the night. Maybe it hit the next campground over. Fortunately, tomorrow night we'll have a proper roof over our heads.