Stories from Matt.

Typhoon

I love weather.

People I've met over the past few years will know how excited I get about typhoon season. Coming as I do from a place where the climate is really stable and predictable, the possibilities presented by an approaching tropical storm always get my imagination going.

Today, however, I have been shown the error of my ways.

Who knew that extreme weather had a down side?

As I write, my city is roughly under the "eye" of "tropical storm Namadol", known locally as "the third typhoon of the season" (How typhoon names are chosen is a mystery to me. American [hurricane] and Australian [cyclone] meteorologists have their own system, usually alternating male and female names in alphabetical sequence. The Japanese just call them by the order in which they spawn each year.).

The problem with this particular weather event is that I had no idea that it was coming.

None at all.

With my wife living in Tokyo and the kids at home, my usual habits have been severely disrupted. I have not been able to check a weather report on a regular basis. 

Internet applications that collect and present weather information often don't carry much detail. The one I've been using lately gave no indication that a severe storm was approaching, when I checked it last night.

Yes. I actually checked the weather and decided, on the basis of the forecast in the Accuweather app., that it would be safe to do some laundry. 

 

 Yeah, that worked out well.... not.

As the storm moves on, I have decided to take my chances leaving the washing out there. So far, it hasn't been windy enough to send any garments flying into the river, just wet, wet, wet.

I went to work at my kids kindergarten this morning, it was raining but seemed like any other rainy day in early summer. 

It was the kids in my second English class that, when I asked as usual "What's the weather like today?" first alerted me to the coming apocalypse. I didn't believe them, so I asked their teacher and she nodded - a typhoon would be arriving this afternoon.

This Afternoon? 

No problem then.

I finished my song and dance routine, said goodbye and went shopping on my way home.

Big Mistake. By the time I'd done a little shopping for the evening meal, "Namadol" (seriously, Namadol?) was all over my town.

It was hard work driving the few hundred metres from my nearest supermarket to my apartment. But the mess that awaited me when I arrived - yuck!

Not expecting any nasty weather, I had left most of the windows of our small apartment open. Wind plus rain, plus open windows, equals water everywhere. Nasty.

So now, in addition to my liquid laundry, I have wet towels and bedding to deal with.

That's life.

(I still like typhoons - I will miss typhoon season for the next couple of years)