Severe Squall Line and Storm Blasts Gainesville

I had quite a little adventure yesterday afternoon in my quest to drive the eight miles from my home to my workplace, extending the final total distance covered by several miles.  A severe storm front, headed by an intense squall line "highlighted" by torrential rain, strong winds, tornadoes, and lightning, swept through the area, starting at about 11 in the morning.  I had planned on staying home and driving to work later when the weather was less threatening, but almost immediately after the squall line hit, our power went out...something unusual for my subdivision since we have underground lines.  So with no electricity I decided to get ready for work and head on out, a little earlier than planned.  That was fortuitous since I had no idea how bad it was outside on the road.  At least from NW 34th Street on west all the traffic lights were out, and 34th was blocked by the police south of 39th Avenue...apparently an accident or fallen tree down the road.  So I went west and found myself in a succession of traffic standstills while steering to avoid fallen branches and emergency vehicles.  I even tried driving down a stretch of I-75, entering at 39th Avenue.  The traffic there was relatively light and smooth-running until about a mile short of the Newberry Road exit, where a small sign flashed, "Road Closed 1 Mile Ahead: Crash".  Fortunately, the exit occurred before the crash site and I left at Newberry Road.  As I was turning off, I noticed none of the vehicles around me were heeding that sign and saw them all coming to a sudden halt down the road where emergency vehicles were flashing their lights...oh well, you can lead a horse to water...  On Newberry Road it was bumper-to-bumper traffic and I turned off at Perkins Restaurant and snuck my way through the back of the Oaks Mall Plaza and through the Oaks Mall parking lot to SW 62nd Blvd.  At the SW 20th Avenue intersection a car nearly rammed me as I was turning left and already clearly in the middle of the intersection...I had the impression they weren't looking where they were going. Eventually I made my way down to SW 43rd Street and noticed as I approached Wal-Mart that the traffic light was working...hooray! From that point onward the drive to work was routine. The power in my house was out until early evening, and as I drove by around 10:15 after work I noticed power crews heavy at work on a line at NW 34th St and 16th Ave.  Today many of the streets are strewn with small branches, leaves, and pine needles...other than that you wouldn't know that anything had happened the day before.  After getting home from work, I flicked my TV on Channel 20 for the local Gainesville news at 11 and, after the lead story briefly mentioning...in words, no pictures...that a storm had swept through, they quickly passed on to other stories that were of much less immediate interest...I wish they would prioritize their news better.  Maybe I'll start watching their competitor from now on...I switched over and they at least showed some of the roadside debris...

I'm sitting here writing this and basking in this pleasant, meteorologically unremarkable day...not to mention being off from work...