Hail in Thailand

It is hailing in Thailand in what should be the end of winter (the dry season). Over the past 2 weeks we have had 3 HUGE storms that have shaken the houses and filled the streets. The storms here in Thailand are big and loud. Compared to the little pissy storms in Victoria Australia, these guys are monsters. Now I grew up in a tropical area and have had my fare share of tropical storms and cyclones but never have I heard thunder this loud before. No wonder I am sitting here in the dark when the power went out after the first big crack about 30 minutes ago and it's still coming down hard and fast. I started to hear tinging on the roof and windows and looked out to see HAIL! The only time I have ever seen hail is in Victoria, we never got hail where I grew up and I honestly didn't think they got it over here either. But these are pretty big pieces of ice, about 5mm round, but not enough is falling for it to gather in piles for me to get a decent photo of, it is melting too fast.


I love a good storm, always have. As a kid I used to play out in the rain in my bikinis until the first crack of lightning when mum and dad would call me in. And I used to love swimming in our pool during while it was raining. The sound of the rain hitting the water while I held my breath underneath was really cool.

Lillie doesn't seem to mind the storms either, she has slept right through this one but poor Judd is at school and I am supposed to go and pick him up in 30 mins but I don't really want to drag Lillie out of bed and into this weather, plus the roads flood right outside our village even after a small rain shower so I can't imagine what they will be like now after this down pour. I only have to drive 2km but that could be an awfully long way if the water is too deep for my little Corolla.

But I will say that despite the terrible sewerage systems that Thailand has, the water does tend to drain away pretty quick, I mean it takes less than 5 mins of rain to overflow them but once the rain stops it does dissappear leaving behind all the piles of rubbish over each grate in the road that couldn't fit into the holes as the water drained through. It is not very refreshing after the rain here either, the mud smells and the mosquitos appear and it gets real humid real quick and then the drains in all the bathrooms start to smell as the sudden flush of water down the pipes stir up all of the methane gasses in the sewer pits and I have to burn incense and open the windows to freshen the air.

This was a big billboard out the front of our village

Todays storm has now blown over a bit, the rain just stopped but the thunder is still pretty loud and it is eerily quiet outside in the street, no sounds at all except for the last rumbles and drips. It wont take long though for people to emerge and start cleaning up the mess, as the wind blows the rain in every direction everything that doesn't have four walls and a roof is soaked, our poor dog nearly broke down the door when it started trying to get in, I ended up putting her in the spare bathroom to keep her calm. And yes Lillie is still sound asleep and I am still sitting here in the dark, not sure how long for this time until the power is back on, the last big storm like this blew the transformer out in the village and it was hours before we got any power and that was only because the owner of all the developments lives here and called in some favors otherwise they said it could have been over 24 hours to fix. Thank goodness for people with connections.

I best go and open some windows now as I have no fans, no air con and I reckon the temperature will ramp up in about 20 minutes. Ah the joys of living in a hot and humid climate, I miss my Melbourne with its seasons and reliable electricity connections.

Fallen debris on the corner at 7-11.



the rain from my front window