I wish I had pictures

Day 1 of the program was last Wednesday and, after class, about a third of us decided to go have dinner and drinks together to celebrate the beginning of what I'm sure will be an awesome two years together.  What made the evening notable though was how the weather progressed.

We had watched a movie that afternoon in the Universe Within, so the shades were down in the classroom.  We heard one large BOOM outside but nothing else and presumed it was a short/passing thunderstorm.  After class it was overcast but not very threatening when we headed to dinner.  However, by the time we made it to a nearby bar in Central Square to watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup, the sky had gotten pitch black.  After we got our drinks, people near the windows were peering out and pointing so I went out onto the sidewalk to see giant chains of lightning all over the sky.  It was spectacular.  The hockey game was then interrupted for a severe weather alert where we were shown scenes of tornadoes touching down in Western Massachusetts and the weatherman standing next to a deep maroon radar screen.

The lightning by itself was dramatic, but we closed the door to the sidewalk once it began to rain sideways.  The satellite signal for the TV reception went in and out about three times, causing the patrons in the bar to alternately cheer and groan.  Some LGOs has left already and others, thinking it was going to get worse, braved the rain (getting soaked on the way home).  I stayed until the beginning of the third period and turns out by then it was basically done raining so, except for some giant puddles, my trip home was OK.

As I wrote, the tornadoes were in the western half of the state and a number were confirmed to have touched down.  Nothing major other than than the thunder and rain happened in Boston but it was still really amazing weather to witness.  Like the snow that the incoming '13s saw at the admissions days this spring, the thunderstorm was definitely of greater magnitude and intensity than what we normally get in Massachusetts.  The only conclusion I can arrive at is that our class will be... A force of nature!