We seldom see hail in Vineyard skies. We got a dose this past Monday afternoon when a line of thunderstorms approached from the Cape. The storm came from the north. The skies darkened. Then the rain came.

Depending on where you were on the Vineyard or in Southern New England, the storm produced vivid lightning and thunder and copious amounts of hail. We haven't seen hail around this parts in a really long time. Or, if you have a memory, you'll agree we haven't seen such a significant amount of hail come quickly in a short splendid time.

We hears descriptions out of Edgartown reporting it covered the ground. In Oak Bluffs, we heard a sighting of hail as big, or almost as big as marbles.

In Vineyard Haven the hail was more fleeting. Hearing it landing and bounce from the tops of cars was an unusual sound.

The storm wasn't so particularly bad. We've had worse rain showers earlier in the month. But it was short and intense. Five Corners was of course flooded for a time.

At the National Weather Service cooperative station in Vineyard Haven, my backyard, we got 1.02 inches of rain. At the station in Edgartown, the total rainfall was only .28 inches.