Definitely scary. I had a close encounter last fall. We got to see how fast I can move in an emergency. I didn't lose anything in that downpour. Oh wait-I had 2 close encounters. I can whip out a plastic tub and get journals in there in a flash. One show was at an outdoor garden center (which looks more like a park) and halfway through the show the heavens opened up. I got stuff pulled back from the front of the tent, got anything extremely vulnerable put away, and waited it out. We had a river of rushing water going down the drive in front of us. People on the other side of the drive lost everything and were standing in water halfway up to their knees. To pass time, hubby made a paper boat and floated it down the drive as everyone cheered it on.