June 13, 2022–Monday

Almost halfway through June, and the furnace came on overnight! Heat and humidity on the way, today.

And a full moon tonight–the strawberry honey super full summer moon! Strawberry and honey are old folklore names for this moon, a season of ripening strawberries, of bees in the flowers and buds on the milkweeds.

It’s a supermoon, too, which is a more recent name. It’s called a super moon because the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit now. It does appear larger and brighter. You can read more about supermoons here and here.

But Monday afternoon got dark early, with ominous storm clouds approaching. Thunder, lightning, tornado watches all over the Chicago area.

A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for possible tornados. It means, pay attention and be prepared!

A tornado watch for the Chicago area was in effect until 11 P.M. Monday night.

Tornado warnings were issued for portions of Cook and du Page Counties.

A tornado warning means a funnel cloud is forming, or has been spotted. It means take shelter, now!

Tornado sirens went off in downtown Chicago. Sirens went off in Oak Park, too.

The thunder and lightning were relentless. The rain was torrential. The wind knocked down trees and caused power outages. A wind gust of 84 mph was reported at O’Hare.

At 8:52 PM, the tornado watch was cancelled.

June 14, 2022 Tuesday

After the storm, damage reports–downed trees and power lines, power outages. Meteorlogists were comparing the storm to the 2020 August 10 derecho that flattened corn crops in Iowa. Today, highs in the high 90’s with heat index over 100. I’m picking up fallen branches and sweeping mulberries, from the mulberry tree that caught the pine tree that was knocked down in the August 10 storm.

Cloudcover in the evening, and I couldn’t see the full moon.

June 15, 2022

More heat and humidity today. More thunderstorms in the forecast. I saw the full moon setting in the West in the early morning sky! Weather permitting, the just-past-full moon will be visible here after 10:22 P.M. tonight.