By Jack Wilson
While a tornado touched down near Montreal July 13, some Townshippers were treated to the sight of a simultaneous rainbow and lightning storm. Amateur meteorologist Andrew Retchless caught the whole thing on camera over Lake Lovering.
“It was pretty cool,” Retchless said, “a really strong storm by summer standards.” While heavy rains struck elsewhere, the lake was spared the brunt of the storm, allowing a clear view of the rainbow and lightning. “The sun shone under the storm, so that’s why we got the rainbows looking east,” he explained. “We got the show and a little bit of rain. When you get that, you get to see the lightning but it’s not blocked by the rain.”
Retchless posted the images to his Facebook page, Retchless Weather Services, where he offers regular weather updates for the Townships to his 2,600 followers. “I assemble all the facts from the scientists and try to put it together in a way that makes sense for the Townships.” He said he grew up fascinated by weather and learned a bit about it when studying geography at Bishop’s. He “self-taught myself a lot of the stuff and made friends with some meteorologists,” he said.
The weather enthusiast said he enjoys following local weather for its varied landscapes. “We have a very interesting series of microclimates,” he said. “You drive 50 km and you can have a totally different reality.”
