Geoff Duncan

Yesterday, Seattle weathered the first decent storm of the season: high winds knocked over trees, knocked out power, and caused at least one death. But a funny thing happened while sitting at the computer this morning: a quick flash, a crash of thunder so loud it left my ears ringing, and then marble-sized hail.

Within a minute, this was the view of the street outside:

Hail coats the street

Check out the sheer volume of water doing downhill on the opposite side. A driver who attempted to go up the hill spun out, and had to creep backwards in to a driveway, do a K-turn, and head back down the hill. Bear in mind it's October and about 50°F outside—not exactly freezing weather.

Hail coats the driveway

This was the driveway—er, creek— along the side of the house. Anything white is hail.