Out of a green sky

So, here we are, living in the tropics. The days have been sunny and warm to hot; the sky forever blue, with hardly a cloud to be seen. The swimming pool a boon for hot people after a day’s toil.
But, on Monday the sky turned a dark green and thunder clouds rolled in with very little warning. The roar of the approaching storm was both thrilling and frightening. And then, it hit. And ‘hit’ is the right word, for out of the sky came hail stones – some as big as marbles, others more like golf-balls. They hit with such ferocity that the veranda roof was
dented, neighbouring houses had window panes smashed and our swimming pool took on the look of a boiling cauldron, as the hail-stones pounded relentlessly into the water. 
Garden plants were shredded. The herb garden a mass of flattened stems and the carpet of nasturtiums left as if a rake-wielding giant had combed the leaves and flowers from their stems. Water rushed everywhere and hail piled up against fences and rockeries.
And, then, it was all over and the sun came out. A faint rainbow appeared in the sky and we looked at the scene of destruction only to find that the piles of hail, looking exactly like snow, had turned our tropical paradise (alminto a European Christmas card scene.

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