showtime

When you live in Southern California, you get used to some things. These are not absolutes, but in general, we don't have thunder or lightning, and it generally doesn't rain between April and November.

So it was very exciting to see a huge lightning storm off the coast as I was driving home today. Not long after I got home, the wind started kicking up, making doors slam and things fall over in the house. So, I did what any Californian does when the weather gets wacky: I ran outside.

The lightning gave those of us gathered by the beach quite a show, but it never did rain, or even thunder. It reminded me of what we called 'heat lightning' when I was growing up, but these were consistently dramatic strikes, not just flashes in the sky. We could see a pretty large fire on what was probably Catalina Island or the far tip of Palos Verdes that must have been caused by the lightning. Eventually, the storm moved out to sea.

At least we got to enjoy the show.