The storms that bring rain to Paraguay come in varying degrees of intensity. At times hours and hours of steady rain falls but often things are rather more dramatic.
This is because many of the storms are electrical ones. They build up until the air can hold no more and then release their fury upon the land.
The storm that passed across the country yesterday was defiantly of the furious variety. One of the most damaging for a while.
I was well aware that a storm was coming as its arrival had been forecast for several days. A long range forecast however although it can predict the size of a storm it cannot accurately estimate the level of violence with which it will arrive.
Yesterday morning there was a strong dry wind blowing. This represented the leading edge of the storm system and so was for me the first clue that the coming storm would be a powerful one.
Going out and then heading back home in the morning on my motorbike demonstrated how strongly the wind was blowing as I was buffeted all the way. Travelling is noticeably slower into a strong headwind.
That wind blew until mid afternoon. Then for a while the air was calm and still as the center of the storm passed by. This respite was only ever going to be for a few hours until the storm proper arrived.
It was late afternoon until it did. Then shortly before nightfall a thick band of cloud started to build and fill the southern horizon. For a while all remained calm as the clouds started to cover more of the sky.
After sometime enough clouds had built up for lightning to start flashing between them. This was silent lightning illuminating whole sections of the sky.
Once sufficient energy had built up the lightning was able to escape the clouds. Now it could strike out towards the ground. As it did so large echoing booms of thunder shook the sky.
It could not enjoy the light show for long however. A whistling sound in the distance told that wind and rain were on their way.
So quickly did that arrive that I had barely time to dash indoors and lock the house up before it struck.
Almost immoderately the electricity went off. A common occurrence during big electrical storms. In theory there should be less to repair afterwards if the power is turned off before lightning has a chance to strike a power cable and short everything else.
The storm last night was one of those though that was so powerful little could be done to reduce its damaging impact.
Indoors I lit my candles and waited for the worst of the storm to blow itself out.
All I could here outside was the howling wind. It reached 100 mph so quite strong enough to bring down trees and damage buildings. Also it was so loud there was no point in going to bed until it calmed a little.
The wind blew with great strength for an hour. With it came rain. This was driven horizontal by the strength of the wind. It was not a night to be outdoors.
The electric remained off, unsurprisingly. However there were none of the loud crashes that would have indicated damage to the house. That in itself was reassuring.
So once my world became a little quieter I headed to bed hopeful that the lights would be back on in the morning. By then the wind had lessened but the storm still went on. Flashes of lightning turned night to day and nearby strikes shook the whole house.
I slept through the rest of the storm. It probably banged and crashed for several more hours.
When I woke I could see the rain had stopped and the sky was starting to clear. Unfortunately the electric was still off, which was not ideal.
So it was a cold cup of coffee with my cereal for breakfast.
Once that was done I headed outside to see how much damage the wind and rain had caused.
The first thing that greeted me as I opened the door was netting hanging down and blocking my view. The wind has ripped down the netting that partially covers the terrace to provide a bit of shade. Nothing important and nothing to worry about.
Then I inspected the garden. Fortunately just one tree had snapped and fallen down. Of all the trees it was the one I would choose to loose. Covered in sharp thorns it is not the sort of tree to choose to stand close to.
Other than that there were just a few small branches from other trees scattered about the garden and palm fronds lying everywhere.
More important the house had stood firm. No damage had been done by even the strongest gusts.
Not everyone got off so lightly. Chatting with my neighbour I discovered that his chicken shed had been torn down and destroyed by the wind. It would not have been a good night to be a chicken.
There was still no sign of the electric coming back on but mid morning the internet did start working.
From that I was able to see the level of destruction the storm had bought. It seemed that there were electric pylons down in many places all across the country.
As such all I could sensibly do was patiently wait for my electric to return.
That did no happen during the morning. Then just after midday the lights came back on and life could get back to normal.
After going out at 8 pm the previous evening the electricity had been off for 16 hours. That was quite a long power cut. No doubt though others were still waiting enduring an even longer time without power.
Storms of that size and power are hardly unheard of in Paraguay. That one was though unusually intense and of a level of violence that occurs no more than a couple of times a year.
So as one day another powerful storm will pass this way I will keep a supply of candles to hand and the storm protection measures in place.
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