Weather Happens

Today was a day for wild weather in Lubbock.

We woke up to a foggy and frigid 24 degree morning. The streets and walkways were covered with sheets of glare ice from the frozen drizzle we had the day before.

Even though the walking and driving was treacherous, there was beauty all around, with the pine needles looking as though they were dipped in sugar.

As the sun started to rise, the fog started to burn off and the temperature got higher. And soon the crystalline frosting on the trees started to melt and drip heavily like rain.

It was a beautiful and gorgeous morning with shining sun and brilliant blue skies.

As I left just before 1:00 PM to meet Ariana for lunch, I saw dark clouds way out on the horizon. By the time we were having lunch at the Mediterranean Cafe, those dark clouds were over us and the rain started coming down.

As it was raining, we heard a continuous light tapping on the restaurant windows. It was hail about the size of pellets.

By the time we were done, the precipitation ceased, and the dark clouds were heading off.

After I returned from lunch, I went to take the dogs out to the park for a walk. By now it was bright and sunny with the temperature at 54 degrees. But the wind was blowing something fierce.

Really fierce.

Even though it was warm, I still had to zip my jacket up to my neck, put my hood up and tighten its drawstrings.

While the wind was not strong enough to blow the dogs all the way to Kansas, it was strong enough to knock little Emi to the ground as she went to climb up the curb.

That was some strong wind - so strong that I cut our typically 1-mile walk short. As soon as the dogs did their business, they were quickly hustled back to the car.

While the sky was bright blue, I saw a large brown cloud on the horizon. A dust storm was heading our way.

I've never experienced a dust storm before. So as soon as I brought the dogs home, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. I was going to chase that dust storm.

I decided to head out to some desolate parts so that I could better see the progress of the dust storm.

You can still see some blue sky as the dust rolls in.

There's less blue now.

And look how brown the sky is here.

I did not do anything to alter the color of this image. The dust storm made this look like a scene out of an Alfred Hitchcock or Stephen King movie.

What was interesting about this dust storm was that the dust particles were so fine that I did not feel anything different. There were no stinging particles against my skin. Breathing was normal and uneventful.

I happened to notice this roadside shrine as I was driving down the road.

So I turned around so that I could get a better look at it. The dust storm created an interesting and moody backdrop for this roadside shrine composition.

(I think one of these days I am going to do a photo essay on roadside shrines. They are very fascinating example of native-grown folk art.)

While taking pix of the dust storm and roadside shrine, I was in the area of Lubbock Lake Landmark. So I decided to head that way and see what I could find.

When I got there, it was half an hour before closing, so I really could not do much exploring. Besides, the high winds and not wearing the right type of shoe for walking did not make hiking a very attractive prospect.

But I was still able to get some interesting pix, like this sculpture of Columbian mammoths

or this one of an ancient bison.

And what dust storm would be complete without a few tumbleweeds?

Yes! There were actually tumbleweeds rolling down the road in the high winds.

And here's a granddaddy of a tumbleweed right here in the bucket of this bulldozer.

So all within 10 hours we had fog, sub-freezing cold with sheets of ice, bright sunshine and blue skies, warm temps, rain, hail, sun and blue skies a second time, high winds with rolling tumbleweeds, a dust storm, and bright and sunny blue skies once again.

Only in Lubbock.