Into the Purple

You know the purple part of a severe thunderstorm on Doppler weather radar? Well, I just got done driving through that shit a little while ago. Not a good idea, kids.

Things were getting pretty bad as I approached 45th and Lamar. I almost pulled into the health department parking garage to wait it out. I flipped on KVET (the only radio station in town that pays enough attention to weather) and their transmitter was cutting out. Sheets of rain were blown at me by gusts of wind in the 50-60 mph range, but I was only about 10 minutes from home, so I kept going.

The hail started coming near the intersection of Grover and Brentwood, which was conveniently blocked off by a fallen limb. My brakes locked up as I skidded to avoid it. Fortunately, I managed to get underneath my carport before any serious damage occurred. If that's what marble-sized hail sounds like when it peppers your car, I don't want to find out what baseball-sized hail sounds like.

If I ever drive into the purple again, it sure as hell won't be in a car I own.