Softly the rain builds. Each minute more drops come than the minute before. From the quiet still dampness of the desert night the rain grows stronger.

We've been very fortunate the last couple of days. It started last night really when a Pacific Ocean storm came in across the desert. The rain came, weak at first, and stronger before fading again as it does west of the mountains. Having just arrived back in town we timed our return to coincide with the coming of these beautiful days. Earlier in the evening things were exciting for a time. The national weather service saw fit to issue a tornado warning for our town. Doppler radar showed a large thunderstorm rotating over the valley. It seems there was no actual tornado but it was one intense hail storm. In the time it takes to walk through the house the storm went from light rain to a barrage of the frozen pellets and as quickly faded to a hard driving rain. Without a doubt one of the best things about living in the desert are the days when it is cloudy and rainy.