Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Matter of Opinion

Hail-O! Caught in the storm

I was driving to the Spokane Valley just as the huge thunderstorm appeared. I should have been smart and parked underneath the I-90 overpass as I saw a police motorcycle -- and several cars -- do.

Instead, I got off the freeway at Argonne, but for the last few minutes of my drive toward the Argonne exit, I was driving on instinct alone. It was impossible to see. I scooted into a parking lot and parked close to a huge truck, shielding one side of my car from the hail. It was cartoon hail. Huge. I thought my car would be dented. In addition, lots of lightning. After about five minutes, it passed. I drove by a gas station. Cars had crammed themselves underneath the overhangs above the gas pumps. Eerie.

In journalism world, we often write about how weather surprised people. Flooding their streets, their homes, whisking them away in hurricanes and tornadoes.

The weather between noon and 1 p.m. here wasn't that strong, but it showed the vulnerability we all have to the weather that hits, unannounced.

Anyone else out there get caught in the worst of it?



A Matter of Opinion is really a matter of three opinions – those held by the people responsible for the opinion pages of The Spokesman-Review. Check in regularly to find out what they’re up to, what they think and where they differ and to joust with them if you want.