320:365 Hail

hail
Originally uploaded by amkb

Anna: Today sure has been an interesting weather day!

This morning was bright, glorious sunshine, though with chilly below freezing temperatures. As I did some running around, the sun disappeared and, while temperatures crept above 0C, it started to snow. Errands done, we headed for park day, with a route that took us through downtown. That's when the hail started. Little balls of hail being blown in drifts across the street.

By the time we got to the park, the hail was long gone and the sun was struggling to emerge. As long as the wind was down, sitting on the park bench outside wasn't too bad. Dark clouds threatened, however. My younger daughter and I went walking to the shelter, taking our time to get a few photos and avoid disturbing the geese too much. When we got to the shelter, it was starting to snow again, with a bitter wind.

We gave up at that point and decided to head home early. A frigid walk to that car and the snow had stopped. A few minutes later, we were home and the sun was shining again. I get inside and start uploading photos from the camera's memory card when I look out the window.

It's hailing again. Hard! I grabbed the other camera and took some shots. This photo is of the hail that accumulated on our patio swing in just a couple of minutes.

The hail kept up for a while longer, then gave way to snow, but it's warmed up to 2C now, so it's melting as soon as it touches the black covering on our balcony.

My elder daughter went out for a bit, in her poncho, long skirt and bare feet. She gathers up snow from the balcony rail and tossed snowballs into the trees below. When she came in, she assured me that she did NOT throw snowballs at the poor little robin in the tree, going "tweet, tweet, I'm freezing my a$$ off!"

I love my daughter's sense of humour.

Right now, it's quite bright out, and the snow is coming down even harder, though nearly verticle with the wind.

And to think it's the end of April.