. . .It was 4:04 in the afternoon on a warm, tropically humid, breezy Sunday in mid-April (the 15th, 2018). I was sitting on our slightly slanted, basic-cinder-pavers-mortared-together-by-a-previous-owner back patio in sylvan, middle-east Charlotte (NC, USA), sipping on a KBC (Kennebunkport Brewing Company) porter beer while watching the billowing, hundred-shades-of-gray, cumulonimbus clouds advancing from the west. A line of strong storms associated with a potent cold front was now crossing the Catawba River. Two-inch-diameter (5 cm) hailstones had just been reported in Gaston County. Heavy weather was imminent in the city named after the Holy Roman Empire-born (now Germany) British queen (wife of King George III).. . . Read More