Behold, the yellow sky.
Contrary to what people say, yellow sky doesn’t mean a tornado is coming. Green sky means a tornado. Yellow sky just means a Texas thunderstorm. This video was taken after it blew over us, so you are seeing it as it moves off.
You can see how the poor iPhone tried to color-correct because sky isn’t supposed to be that color. You have to film it in a very specific way, otherwise the phone will turn it to blue artificially, so you point the phone at the sky without any trees or other references until it registers the real color. One trick is film it upside down, which is what you see in the second video.
The forecast is promising us more of this goodness for the rest of the week, so as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to put on decent clothes, drive to the bank to deposit the roof insurance check, run a couple of errands, and then, Gordon and I will need to mow like the wind to hopefully get ahead of the wet weather coming in tomorrow. Because of the roof construction, we couldn’t cut grass for 3 weeks and it needs trimming.
Magic Claims is heading to proofreaders and ARCs will be available soon.
You will likely see an Under Construction sign on the website either today or tomorrow. No need to panic, it’s just us moving to a new host.
Hopefully our digital skies will remain blue and clear.
Deb says
Did you get golf ball size hail recently, Ilona?
Moderator R says
Yes, there has been loads of it- and in fact the reason the 3 weeks of roof-replacement hell had to take place https://ilona-andrews.com/2023/texas-storms/
Deb says
Or maybe baseball sized? I heard about the outrageously big hail in Texas recently. Well, you know what they say about Texas. 😀
LM says
The same thing happened in Denver a few years ago. My dad was in the car when it started and had to sprint across a parking lot to get inside since staying in the car wasn’t safe (the hail was going thru windshields). Bit touch and go since he was in his late 60s at the time but he is pretty fit and didn’t get injured so all good!
Tink says
Did you see the video of the twister touching down in east Florida this past weekend and lifting cars on the highway while people were in them?? And no one was seriously hurt!
jing says
glad the roof was done before the storm comes.
we had a good weather weekend but now I’m noticing the poplars started spitting the fluffy stuff…. allergy season is now on 🙁
Tink says
It was done just in time. One of my brothers lives in the same general area as House Andrews and he posted a picture of hail on his porch this past weekend.
Michael says
Thunderstorms in Puget Sound are grey grey grey with what people used to incorrectly call “heat lightning” but is really just unseen activity, not a ground strike. Always fun counting seconds between the flash and the thunder!
wingednike says
I’m not sure if any of you are hockey fans, but the BDH was represented while seeing the Stanley Cup
Patricia Schlorke says
Hockey fan here! Where were the BDH represented?
I’m rooting for the Dallas Stars since my main team, St. Louis Blues, didn’t make the playoffs.
wingednike says
Over in Downtown Disney this weekend where the cup was on display. I wore my Cutting Edge sweatshirt. I tried to post the picture but it didn’t go through.
Patricia Schlorke says
I saw the video of the hail coming down in Dublin, Texas (for those who don’t know, that’s where the soda (or pop) Dr. Pepper came from). There was a bull in the pasture. He ran for cover!
I was watching the Weather Channel’s coverage of the thunderstorms that hit southwest of DFW and Waco. That was a pretty shade of turquoise. More on the green side than blue.
Stay safe down there!
wingednike says
Let’s try again
Moderator R says
HI wingednike, if you are trying to attach an image file, the size limit is 1 Mb. You might have more luck taking a screenshot of the photo and uploading that 🙂
wingednike says
Thanks, Mod R. The screenshot was my 2nd attempt. Let me see if the link works.
Vincent Cavataio says
Good Luck with the new web site. I hope the links to the free stories on the blog will still available. I love reading them. Would Ilona Andrews consider to continuing the story from the “Man on the Road”? Raina Belfort seems to be an interesting character not to mention the Dragons…..
Moderator R says
There are many a Puffles fan in these here comment sections 😀 ! We asked Ilona at the time and the answer was “Maybe.”
Hope is not lost!
Patricia Schlorke says
Good to know. 😀
njb says
😁👍
Dawn says
YAY for the roof finally being finished!
Moving sites is a royal PITA. Best of luck!
njb says
Happy mowing and congrats on the roof! I did my back yard yesterday myself. Decided the front could wait, may be sorry. Trying to enjoy the blue skies we’ve not seen in weeks!
Yea to that much closer to book drop day! And good luck with the website migration.
Mary says
Blue skies smiling at me. Nothing but blue skies do I see. Roof is done, Magic Claims is off , you have insurance check. So storms will go. And all will be good.
Stacey says
the yellow skies are fascinating. our real thunderstorms turn the sky a swallow-the-world black. and since I am in Michigan, the weather always comes from the west.
When kid 1 was in a stroller, we once went out on a westward jog. Husband thought we’d be okay turning around at the intended point based on the rolling mass of black headed our way.
Sometimes it is easier to note which businesses on the other side of the big road are open and ask to run back on the other than to argue with the husband.
We spent the thunderstorm in a Panera soaking wet, about a quarter mile from our turnaround point with 3 miles to go to home. All was well.
Judy Schultheis says
Good luck moving to the new website.
Chele says
When the sky is green and swirling in circles that’s when I head to the cellar. We don’t get the yellow, Nebraska is more grey.
jewelwing says
Looking forward to the new website!
Mowing between the raindrops, always fun.
Barbara says
Texas thunderstorms are scary. In California, we get big storms that drift in from the Pacific. You can wake up to a beautiful morning and a clear sky, but there will be something different about the light. Several hours later, it will be pouring down rain.
I was visiting the Texas Hill country with a friend and we saw thunderclouds way off in the distance. He said “We need to go- Now”. 20 minutes later, it was pouring rain, the 10 was flooded, and it took about 3 hours to get from Comfort to San Antonio.
PatriciaM says
ModR: I am not sure where this should be reported or if you have already pointed this out and I missed it but I noticed yesterday that Chirp has the first three Innkeeper Graphic Audio releases on a big sale. Since I came late to audiobooks and such, it was welcomed.
Moderator R says
Thank you for letting us know :)! I hope you enjoy them!
Jaz says
No lawn mafia to mow for them? Bummer! Hoping for blue skies for you as well.
Normandy says
“mow like the wind” I feel this
Jean says
Green sky and cloud layers moving in a cross-hatch pattern. So not good. Seen that three times, two times more than I ever thought I would.
😬😬😬
Carnela says
Moooo🎶w like the Wind,
Mow like the Wind
Janet Scurlock says
Living in the PNW we don’t get many thunderstorms(maybe twice a year if we’re lucky), so whenever they happen I sit myself outside to watch!! Wish we had more. Was lucky last week were we had 2 lightning storms next to each other so got to watch that for about 20 minutes.
MariaZ says
Day 1 of roofing starts for me today.
The wood backing the fascia is 2×6 and the roofer brought 1×6 as that is the standard now. The result is that the soffits are too long and they need to be trimmed. I have two choices: 1. spend $600 to have the roofers trims the old 26 year old soffits or 2. spend $3100 on brand new soffits that will also have to be trimmed. What do I do?
Well the soffits are made of plastic and the 26 yr old soffits are in good condition, pliable and not brittle. Nice to know plastic was better made in the day. So Choice 1.
I have two more days to go unless it rains.
kathleen says
you have to get roof insurance?
MariaZ says
I have home owners insurance and it covered the roof. This May 4th will be the one year anniversary of putting the insurance claim in. The roofers and the adjusters who work for the insurance company, and the rep for the insurance company have been going back and forth for a year. There were many denials, appeals, and delays and delays. This is done on purpose by the insurance companies so the homeowner will quit and take the lowest bid offered. Even with the insurance company going from “no the damage is too small” to “OK we will pay”, there is still the deductible and the depreciation. Depreciation is a term the insurance company uses so they don’t have to pay for the entire roof. Even with the insurance companies OK I still have to submit all the roofing invoices to show that the roof was replaced. Welcome to home ownership and adulting.
Maura Elizabeth Manning says
I went to St. Edward’s University in Austin the year Rocky Horror arrived. Good memories….except for the TORNADO I experienced. The sky turned green (green!), then purple (wtf was that about?). Then the finger of God reached down, and I took off like I had winged feet. I hid under my bed in the dorm till it passed. Two months later I was on a plane back to California and earthquakes. I don’t know how you don’t lose your mind every spring. I do not ever want to see that again. On a side note…I want to thank you for your work. I’m post cancer surgery, and scared out of my mind most of the time. You take me out of myself. I wish you and everyone here happiness.
Sleepy says
Interesting, yellow skies/orange skies means dust storm where I live… which is accompanied by thunderstorms probably and hour or two later, so I suppose it’s the same!
Alexisa says
The videos are beautiful. I love storms on a sunny day. Along with pressure in the air their something about when it’s “grey” and dreary increases my migraines.
In NC a yellow sky is just from the way the sun angles through the clouds. For our storms the sky gets dark pretty fast though.
Did Yahoo deliver my newsletter a day late or was it intended to arrive today?
Moderator R says
The newsletter does deliver the posts with a 24 hour delay sometimes, unfortunately.
Alexisa says
That makes sense. Delivery time like mail. 😂
Maura Elizabeth Manning says
This is for the moderator…there was a reply to my comment – and it, and my answer to it, are missing. Any idea what happened? The person who replied to my comment was an old friend I hadn’t heard from in 35 years. I’d love speaking with her again. I don’t know her new last name, unfortunately. Thanks….
Moderator R says
Hi Maura,
I think we lost some of the comments in the website move BUT I have them in my mod inbox so I can link the two of you- stand by for my email 🙂
Pam says
Growing up in West Virginia one of my favorite events was watching a thunder storm approaching our farm. The sky would turn an ominous color in the distance behind a WV hill. Then the dark sky would crest over the hill totally and roll towards you in a distinct line. Then at some mysterious point the line became rain. Then heavier rain. Always peaking over the hill until at the end you could not see the top of the hill, and then none of the hill or valley, as the rain blocked your view. And the sound was fabulous bouncing off the hills and rolling down the valley. It was wonderful.
Emily says
I just refinished ruby fever and the original kd series just prior. I just wanted to say thank you for a solid series. Some of my favorite authors I’m not fond of the end. It feels rushed or sometimes like it was stretched to make a contract. Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy, but I feel all the series I’ve read of yours is a full meal from the first to the next or last book. Of course as part of the bdh i always want more, but am sated with the fantastic world and story you provide. Anyhow, thank you and keep being fabulous.
Former Storm Chaser says
Pretty mammatus clouds! I miss those. I live in DC now and don’t see them nearly as often as when I lived in Texas.
amstager says
I’ve heard of mamatus clouds but never seen such a great example!
Jukebox says
Nothing beats the red Armageddon sky we had in northern California in 2020. Which, with the multiple raging out of control wildfires, COVID, and Trump winning, was pretty close to the end of the world.
KC says
Did you know, green sky can also mean hail?
The Big Bend region of Texas, especially during the summer monsoon season gets such vivid yellow skies, and intense peach during dry spells when the dust storms stir up the gunk in the air.
PC says
In Australia we like the old English predictive weather phrase: “Red sky at night Shepherd’s delight; red sky in the morning Sailor take warning”. Still seems to work here “down under” in the southern hemisphere 😉
Barbara Wright says
It’s very pretty anyway!! Here in the UK our Thunderstorms are blue/black.
Cinders says
As a fellow deep south Southerner, I soooooo appreciate trying to get the (probably still too wet) lawn mowed.
Leslie Sexton says
Those clouds are cumulonimbus mamatus (cb mama for us weather geeks) and yes they are indicative of severe weather and extreme turbulence. It can be indicative of tornadoes. (I was an AF weather forecaster for 20 years, taught for 10 more and because I can’t get enough, I observe weather part time at the airport 🤷🏻♀️). We live just east of Shreveport, LA and it’s always interesting. Hope you are all safe. Spring weather sucks.