The Georges in Peru

"Hey kids!  Come look!"  I yelled from our roof to the kids as I watched a wall of dust creep across the upper parts of Arequipa.  It swept across the city and made lots of noise rattling windows and tin-roofs.  We went to bed early since we and most of the city were without electricity from torn power lines and toppled trees.  It was hard to sleep with all of the rattling and howling wind until it subsided around 1:30 am.  

We used to dream and probably even prayed for 'snow days' when I was a kid in rural Nebraska.  But this was a first:  No school on Friday because of Thursday's wind!  Arequipa doesn't get much wind, so when they do, they aren't very prepared for it.  30-40 mph winds knocked down billboards, trees and tore off lots of tin roofs.  To give people a chance to repair their homes, the ministry of education declared a day off of school!