What began around 6 pm Tuesday evening as a light rainfall quickly morphed within the hour into a heavy downpour accompanied by strong winds, gusting up to 45 mph.

I had opened the windows—partly because I love fresh, cool air and the sound of rain, and partly because the 100-plus degree heat of earlier that day had hung on, and a damp, cool wind was just the ticket.

Romeo, the cat, was delighted, a…