Nature's dark side reveals itself in storm

OUR SAY: MAGICAL, but fierce, summer storms punctuate our afternoons at this time of year.

Daniel Scott and his father David Scott inspect the remains of their hail damaged cotton crop on the Cecil Plains farm, Wednesday, December 27, 2017. Picture: Kevin Farmer

OUR SAY: MAGICAL, but fierce, summer storms punctuate our afternoons at this time of year.

For most of us, watching the clouds darken and roll in from the south or the west is thrilling.

When those first drops of rain fall we revel in the petrichor and breath a sigh of relief that the storm will take the ferocious heat out of the day.

The Darling Downs has been hit by storms over the past few days.

Tuesday afternoon's storm was especially intense around Oakey and Cecil Plains.

Tom Gillespie's report in about damage from that storm reminds us that for some, the summer storms can be devastating.

Within minutes, years - or even a lifetime - of work can be wiped out.

David and Pauline Scott are cotton farmers at Cecil Plains.

Their crop was decimated by hail two days ago.

This comes on the heels of a heatwave last year and hailstorm the year before wreaked havoc on their crop and their profits.

When their insurance payout eventually comes through, the Scotts shouldn't be out of pocket. But how heartbreaking to see a year's worth of work destroyed in minutes.

This is the dangerous side to those breathtaking electrical storms we marvel at each summer. 

A storm brought down power poles in Toowoomba - Cecil Plains Rd, Wednesday, December 27, 2017. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Originally published as Nature's dark side reveals itself in storm