Tuesday, July 13, 2010

On thunder

Last night we had a special visitor, and he was frightfully angry. Back when he was a superstar he was known as Þórr. In contemporary Norway he is known as Tor. You might know him as Thor. Thor was out throwing his hammer, Mjöllnir, in fury over something. He yelled, and he cursed, and he tried to bring down the mountains, but fortunately he only managed to cut our power for a few hours. Thor was the god of thunder in Norse mythology. The noisy storm last night certainly lent credibility to the old belief that a savage with anger management disorder was the cause of heavy weather.


Usually before a thunder storm, you can feel it hours ahead. We have a word for this in Norwegian – lummert – which is the hot, humid, heavy weather that precedes thunder. You can feel the pressure building up until the only outcome must be a thunder storm. Frequently I get pre-thunder headaches. My dictionary claims that the English translation of the word lummert is muggy, sticky or sultry. I beg to differ. They are close, but to me all of these lack the essential component of lummert – the inevitable thunder.

Yesterday, however, it wasn’t lummert at all. The thunder storm came as – well, as a bolt from the blue.

Thor was here for well over an hour. He was louder than I have heard him for years. The lightning flashed so frequently that even though he visited during the night, it was as light as day. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to watch the "fireworks". Most of the action took place up in the sky, but there were certain lightning bolts finding their target at ground too. The rain washed away almost our entire street, and the wind howled around our house for hours afterwards.

I don’t know what upset Thor so much. Perhaps he was rooting for the Netherlands in the World Cup? Even though I enjoy his shows from time to time, I am glad he seems to have cooled down again now.

14 comments:

Natasha said...

I too am like you. Normally, I enjoy a good thunderstorm, but sometimes, I can do without.
Maybe he wandered over from India by mistake?

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I am not a lover of thunder storms Yes one can sense one some time off.
I had a bad expereience in one many years ago and am now cautious.
Enjoyed reading your post, I know many people think thunders storms are a wonderful thing to watch but count this one out.

Have a good day.
Yvonne.

Cruella Collett said...

Natasha - has old Thor been hanging out a lot in India lately? If so, I guess you could have him back now (I'm still a little angry with him for last night)

Yvonne - I know a lot of people who really don't enjoy thunder too, so you're in good company. Usually Thor leaves pretty quickly, though, so I don't mind so much.

Marjorie said...

Perhaps Loki played a trick on him. Loki does tend to make the other gods angry. Yeah that's where I'm placing my bet. I really love thunderstorms. They really relax me most of the time.

LTM said...

sounds very cool. I loved stormy weather when I was a kid. Now that I know what can happen (and live in hurricane alley) I tend to get more... nervous... :D But it reads cool~

Jemi Fraser said...

The house I grew up on was at the top of a hill and we had a porch on the front. We had a terrific view of thunderstorms from there. I love them :) But not when they take out the power!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I get pre-storm headaches as well from the pressure.

Jen said...

I love a good thunderstorm...well, as long as it doesn't damage anything!

Anonymous said...

There was a thunderstorm here in Georgia too, around 2,3 in the afternoon when I was at work, and the day before, there was a strong sunshower that lasted all of five minutes. Sunshowers are the greatest. :)

RosieC said...

I generally like watching thunderstorms. When I was a kid, I remember standing in the doorway with my dad watching the rain for hours. Unfortunately, I also get weather headaches (well, knock-you-on-your-ass migraines to be exact), so I can't say I love them so much, anymore. But the cool that follows the rain is generally worth it.

Ah, I just heard some thunder. Rain must be on its way.

Cruella Collett said...

Marjorie - you're right, I probably should blame Loki! Bad Loki!

Leanne - I kinda like hail... Except that it kills flowers and stuff. But it amuses me (I know, weird sense of humour...)

LTM - Ooo, hurricanes... I have a wild wish to experience one once, but I know they do a lot of damage. So I shouldn't wish that (but I do!)

Jemi - that sounds pretty spectacular!

Alex - I swear, my entire family is like one big baromether. Me with the thunder headaches, my sister with her rain-predicting hair, and - well, that's about it, but still!

Jennee - so true. Boo to storm damage!

Amanda - sunshower, huh? Is that like - sunshine when it showers? Instant rainbow? Sounds nice :)

Rosie - sorry to hear about the migraines. I suppose those would take the entire joy out of thunder (steal its thunder, so to speak...)

Hannah said...

I get pre-thunder migraines so when they're finally here I loves it. I've always loved a good summer storm especially here, they can be crazy!

Unknown said...

LOVED IT! You make Thor seem like a superstar! Great post.

Cruella Collett said...

Palindrome - yes, I love the feeling of getting the tension out of the air too. I prefer them a tad further away than the one the other night, though.

Chary - tee hee - I guess he is a superstar (though a bit of a diva...)

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