March 2026 Slice of Life, No. 3
It had been a slow, uneventful day. Just rain. Lots of rain.
At times it just poured straight down, like it was coming from a gigantic tub faucet. Visibility was significantly reduced. I could barely make out the neighbor’s arborvitae hedge.
As the storm raged, we chose to relax in our comfortable overstuffed chairs — Carl reading a book, me reading on the internet.
Then sometime between 5:00 to 5:30 pm, there was a loud roar. My first thought when I initially heard that roar was, There’s a low flying aircraft overhead. But then the rain began to beat sideways against our west-facing windows, and I quickly realized that the roar was the wind.
The wind gusted at 50 mph that evening, forming a giant vortex that passed right over us. Trees were crazily swaying. The tall, skinny arborvitae were oscillating, west to east, back to west, and every once in a while they looked like they were spinning. And more, much more, rain poured out of the heavens.
The long and short of it, we had been slammed by an atmospheric river.
Two neighboring counties were issued tornado warnings at the time. Around 60,000 customers lost power. And flooding and rock slides were reported in the Gorge.
For those who don’t know about our northwest weather, it is rare for us to get a thunder and lightning storm, much less a tornado. Rain? We gets lots of that, but it doesn’t usually drive sideways against our windows or pour in torrents.
We were so thankful the storm only delivered rain; snow and ice would have been devastating.
In my classroom
Are you wondering, What is an atmospheric river?
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Thanks for your insightful slice. There is always so much to learn on a daily basis and the weather is so complex. It must have been scary and confronting for you to experience.
Mother Nature can be quite violent and destructive at times. Sometimes the sounds she makes, when you least expect them, can make you jump out of your seat. Glad you had no damage.
So true. Our big concern… beyond property damage, is whether or not we will lose power.
I live in the PNW – I do know what an atmospheric river is. It is so different than just a “rainy day.”
Whoa! I had no idea what an atmospheric river was, and, well, now I *know*. Your description is clear. I especially love the image of the trees looking like they were spinning – wow. I laughed, too, when you added the “In my classroom” section – I was planning to go look up “atmospheric river” because of course I wanted to know more, but there you were, anticipating my question. Love it.
I like the two nicknames:”Pineapple Express” and the “Rum Runner Express.” I think they sound romantic and less threatening. Pineapple Express comes from the Pacific around Hawaii and in the winter it warms our temperatures significantly. The “Rum Runner Express” originates near the Caribbean and moves toward Europe.
That is fascinating! It sounds like the South Carolina Coastal version of a hurricane. I’m sure that it is alarming when you weren’t expecting it to have such a weather event. Speaking of clouds, I just stepped outside to see the Blood Moon I’d been looking forward to seeing, but it’s too cloudy here in Georgia to see anything. Weather gets in the way of things so much!
Speaking of clouds “hiding” celestial wonders… Tonight we are suppose to be able to see the planets lined up… but I’m sure we won’t because we are under a heavy cloud cover today. 🙁
Wow! An atmospheric river sounds scary! Almost like the hurricanes we get here on the Gulf. I’m glad you are safe.