Raining cats and dogs

It’s raining so hard right now in San Francisco I walked around my home to make sure it wasn’t actually raining inside! There’s also thunder and lighting which is very unusual in this area and extremely unsettling. My phone just received an “emergency alert” flood warning from the National Weather Service.

"A FLASH FLOOD WARNING is in effect until 3:30pm PST. This is a dangerous and life threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under and evacuation order."

Curious, I looked up the origin of the phrase “raining cats and dogs.” According to Wikipedia, this is a 19th-century cartoon by English artist George Cruikshank illustrating the phrase "raining cats and dogs" (and "pitchforks”). The phrase has been around for a while!

If you know anyone in California you may want to check on them to make sure they are OK and haven’t floated away.