A Topsy-Turvy World

I wonder... is this the same place that experienced the hottest driest June-into-July since the dust bowl era? Certainly August hasn't been this way.  In fact, the past few days have been unseasonably cool and we've had quite a bit of rain, too.  Last Thursday, I think it was, we got 3.5 inches in 24 hours.  This morning's storm ripped through quickly and violently.  It started with wind gusts -- tree branches thrashed wildly around, whipping through the air.  My sunflowers, which are significantly taller than I am at this point, swayed perilously low.  I implored them not to fall over, to be flexible and bend in the wind so that they wouldn't break.  (They promised me, in a voice suspiciously similar to my husband's, that they'd stay standing -- but I'll have to wait until I get home from work to find out if they kept that promise.)  Though the sky was dark, at this point it was barely raining at all... but before too long, it was pouring buckets, as they say... raining cats and dogs... rain was coming down in sheets... am I missing any rain cliches?  The drops were huge, and plentiful, water ran down the driveway and through through the street... And before long it was over, a calm cloudy day...