Monsoon season?

A sudden heavy rainstorm (I haven't watched the news so I don't know if they've officially designated it as a "microburst," but it fit the description) hit Pittsfield on Monday while I was at work. We all gathered around the front doors and watched the rain and hail crash down and flood the parking lots and streets. Lightning struck nearby and made my whole body tingle like I'd touched an electric fence. Just after I'd said, "I hope kids aren't walking home from school in this," a young co-worker burst in through the door, soaked through, with her flip-flops in her hand. One of them had been ripped off her foot by the raging waters as she dashed from the grocery store to our shop, so she chased it down then ran for cover.

Lifelong Berkshire residents were stunned by the intensity of the storm—I said, "This is what it's like every afternoon in the summer in Tucson." Here it took people by surprise and a number of folks were trapped in their cars (although there are always those few in Tucson who get stuck in flooded areas, too, even though they should know better), and the storm did a lot of damage to roads and property throughout the county. Since I was at work, I wasn't able to get any pictures myself, but here's a video shot by a local photojournalist and friend of ours from church, Ben Garver: