We have those all the time in AZ, mostly because of the heat, and we ignore those. But sometimes, I guess you should pay attention. Rode home today, cyclocross style through floods, in "scattered thunderstorms" that turned out to include hail the size of marbles. Shooters, not pee-wees.

Hail hurts.

It was fun, though, in an odd sort of way. Saw one other cyclist, and we laughed at each other as we passed, trying to stay on a bike path you couldn't see.

No one can ever say that cycling is not an adventure!

I've only been caught in hail a couple of times (and it sure wasn't "shooters") and was very happy to have been wearing my helmet.

I was in a meeting with a group of folks that had just come in from Phoenix and they indicated that flights in and out of the Airport were cancelled or delayed due to the Tstorms. I was very surprised.

And yes, hail huts. I hope you didn't sustain any dents on your frame or your helmet!

One of my most memorable rides was during an ice storm a couple of years ago. The bike was covered by the time I got home. That was the ride the woman at the quickie mart told me "Oh you poor thing, did you lose your license?" I'll never ever forget that one.

I lived in Mesa for 3 years and can testify that the desert thunderstorms put on the most amazing lightning displays you would ever hope to see.

They weren't quite this big as I rode home, but earlier in the day, the hail was truly intense:

Hail 3..jpg

I've only been caught in hail once in my life, and that was enough. Never forget the sound of "Ping-Ping----PingPingPingPing" on my steel frame. It didn't last long, only about a minute.

Around here, the severe weather alerts usually mean snow/ice in the winter, and thunderstorms/wind in the summer. Yeah, I've been caught in a few. Ice storms are definitely the worst of the worst. Most "experienced" Boston area folks would rather it snowed three feet, than an ice storm.

Priceless! Absolutely priceless!

Coming up for our "Wet" season and you are going to get wet. Thank goodness for Goretex. But our storms used to come in summer. Beautiful weather and a cloud appears. Then it gets very dark but still just that one cloud around. Directly over us and there is blue sky allround. First crack of thunder and we start looking for shelter. We normally have about 30 seconds. 5 minutes later and it is finished- except for the Flash floods. This year I don't think we have had a storm like we used to- we just get hours of heavy rain. Bring back the good old days.