Ten minutes of rain

This morning the sun was shining brightly, and had I left my house to return this afternoon, I would've been shocked to find that it could rain. It was also humid today, which made me feel a bit groggy. I kept the windows in our apartment open even though the heat bouncing off the stones in the piazza below wafted inside. It wasn't until lunch that I felt the air cool down. The sky became hazy and dark, but still I didn't believe it would rain. Even yesterday I heard tuono (thunder) in the distance, but not a drop of rain came.

While I was sitting at my desk I saw a large lampo (flash of lightning) strike behind a large stone wall that sits on the low hill. A few drops came down and then the sky went almost white with large gocce (drops) of rain. I ran to the window when I heard a small group of girls begin screeching. They were dressed in sun dresses and flip-flops, and had one umbrella for all six of them. They tried to stand under the awning of the Camera di Commercio (Chamber of Commerce) building, but were getting wet. They followed one man to the steps where there was a little more protection, but unfortunately the rain was falling at a slant and it was aiming straight at the steps.

A few cars drove past, the Arno was cloudy, and no one was walking down the street. It seemed quiet enough to just listen to the rain fall. After only about ten minutes the rain subsided, and people began reappearing. Some not concerned with the light showers while others were running to get to a covered area, which are very few in town.

I opened my window completely to let the crisp and clean air come inside. It feels so refreshing after our humid morning. After I sat back down at my computer, I continued to look out the window to check the sky. I think that the temporale (thunder storm) has passed for good today.

I don't know what other people think about the summer temporali, but I enjoy them. They are so refreshing breaks from our hot and humid days.

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