And the heavens opened up.
Just when it looked like it was going to get really bad, the clouds gathered and rain poured from the sky.
What a delightful smell it was, freshly fallen rain on the hard, dry ground.
Springs, like many other towns, was rather hard-hit by a severe thunderstorm last week and many residents sustained damage to their properties.
In the wake of the hail and rain, a walk through town proved just how severe it was.
Hailstones littered the streets and sidewalks, gardens and roofs, looking like a blanket of thick snow.
Some places in Springs looked like they were straight out of a fairy tale, almost like a white Christmas.
The damage on the other hand was like the stuff of nightmares.
Many people suffered damage to their property.
The Springs Airfield, for example, suffered about R9-million worth of damage to aircraft.
This isn’t counting the damage to property.
So the much-needed rain was both a blessing and a disaster to some.
We had all hoped it would rain, but never expected it to come down as severely as it did.
In other places, some people were left without homes as the trio of wind, rain and hail ripped off roofs and destroyed houses.
This makes it slightly difficult to be elated about the rain when some people don’t have anywhere to sleep.
Hopefully, help will be on the way for these people.
While the downpour was going strong, we, at the Addie, decided to test the waters and ran outside trying to take photos.
Although we were bombarded by hailstones and were sopping wet when we walked back in the office, I rather enjoyed this little outing.
The umbrella proved useless against the storm and wasn’t much good when we were done with it.
But all in all, I couldn’t have been happier when I heard the first sounds of a thunderstorm approaching and the smell of rain in the air.
With the drought still a constant threat in the country, let’s all hope the rain continues to fall and with any luck, that it won’t come down too strong again.
