Thunder

I used to be petrified of the thundering sounds. One of my most vivid childhood memories is a 7 year old me at school. The fire alarm was blaringg as the lightening had set it off, me and my classmates upset and scared with the teacher calming us down by telling us to count how many seconds there was between each rumble. Apparently this helps to figure out how far the thunder and lightening was.

thunderHowever, this all changed when I was 14, I remember the day so well. My brothers had gone to play football in the field at the bottom of our house and I was indoors with my mum. The sky was that deep grey colour where you know, a thunderstorm is brewing. Then all of a sudden there is a massive pink, yellow blinding light which is so bright that all of my vision can only see this light and there is a deafening crack which followed. Gradually it went to the rumbling thunder noises which we are used to. My mum and I just looked at each other in shock and then thought of my brothers, who at that moment burst through the doors as they had been worried that we had been hurt. ย That very instance started my love affair with thunderstorms. What if the lightening had hit the house? What if it had hit the field? What is thunder? Why does a thunderstorm happen? ย Questions were exploding out of me and I couldn’t wait to find out!

This was pre internet days so following this incident, I went to the library and looked up thunder, one idea that I really liked was that a thunderstorm was a sign to humans that we were suffering the wrath of Zeus. The gods were so angry that they were expressing this visually in the form of lightening bolts being thrown with the accompanying thunder acting as the anger erupting through them and being showered upon us on earth. I still like to imagine that as the reason behind it but I found out why thunder does really happen and all the sciency stuff behind it (i married a scientist, facts are important). ย It’s really fascinating ๐Ÿ™‚
What I also love about thunder is that for countries like the UK where we don’t have severe weather like cyclones/hurricanes/-35 degrees weather, through thunderstorms we still get to experience one of mother natures most frightening and compelling weather conditions. Even though there is a scientific explanation, Mother Nature is so amazing that it helps to put our lives into perspective and show that despite how we perceive ourselves we are so defenceless. It brings a little humility into our lives!
So next time you hear that rumble, sit back and enjoy the show ๐Ÿ™‚ when thunderstorms are predicted I eagerly window gaze to see it!

Nisbah

I am a traveller, mother and blogger. We love to go on adventures (big and small, near and far) and strive to show our children how amazing and beautiful the world is! I caught the travel bug many moons ago and despite having three little adventurers, I still suffer from "itchy" feet. We love the great outdoors and one another. Come and join the fun :)

You may also like...

13 Responses

  1. I love thunderstorms too, and you are right that they show the power of nature, definitely humbling. The science behind them is really interesting too, I can understand why people become storm chasers ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks so much for linking to #ThePrompt x

    • nisbah says:

      Hi Sara

      Really enjoyed being part of #theprompt. I think it’s the sheer ferocity and the power which a thunderstorm brings that really adds to it all.

  2. I love thunder too – there’s something strangely invigorating about it, and the cleansing power of storms is awesome ๐Ÿ™‚

    • nisbah says:

      Hi Sophie

      Definitely agree with the cleansing power post thunderstorms. The musky smell and the air generally feels so refreshed. All this thunderstorms talk makes me want the weather to turn ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. It is a great reminder of the power of Nature. Truly humbling #theprompt

    • nisbah says:

      Hi

      Yes the power of nature is so immense. My hubby is truly humbled by the power that nature shows in every form of life and hearing him talk about it really sparks a genuine interest as he speaks with such awe!

  4. I love this! I never learned all the science-y stuff but I have always been mesmerised by storms. I love your stories from your childhood too, no wonder you had a fascination with storms. It does make me think about just how vulnerable we are when it comes to Mother Nature. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • nisbah says:

      Hiya

      Yeah, it’s quite funny how we recall the memories that actually started our interest in something. My hubby loves Mother Nature and is always trying to work out why things happen. Spoils part of the fun for me as the magic of it all seems diminished when hard facts are applied!

  5. Chrissie says:

    Ah, I love thunderstorms too. You’re right about the humility. It’s such a powerful force. My mum used to tell us it was the man upstairs moving his furniture about (my mum is an agnostic so it was never God). I think the fact that its something we know is dangerous in our every day lives (electricity) unleashed outside of our control makes it much more exciting. x

    • nisbah says:

      Hiya

      Thunderstorms are awesome and I think it’s that feeling that it could happen anywhere at anytime that really hits home the little control that we have.

    • nisbah says:

      Hi Chrissie

      Loved the story of the man upstairs! I would’ve shared that with my little adventurers but think it would freak them out thinking there is someone upstairs.

      Really agree with the point about electricity. We worry about the small voltages that we deal with and a lightening strike is so intense that I can’t fathom that when we compare it to the scales we are used to!.

      • Chrissie says:

        For some reason we accepted it. She also used to tell us the storm would get trapped in the walls of our city which is why it moved around. I remember once lying on the sofa while she stood in the open front door watching the sky. Such an inspiring force. x

        • nisbah says:

          That’s the amazing thing about childhood, you are blessed with an accepting nature and the works is so amazing that you would never question things to the contrary.

          Love the memory and thank you for sharing. It’s often these ordinary moments that stay with us forever! ๐Ÿ™‚

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.