Weather

Weather here is different than what I’m used to on the Mid-Atlantic coast of the US. And in some ways it’s not too different. Despite preconceived notions about a snow-capped Ukraine, all four seasons are present. And the summers here are hot. As I’ve mentioned before I got sunburned. However, there are some peculiarities to the weather here that might be interesting for my American-dwelling readers.
Right now as I write this, it is storming. The thunderstorms here are no joke. And they seem to be somewhat common. When it rains, it pours. And I’ve seen and heard lightning strike nearby more times in Ukraine than I have in my entire life on the Eastern seaboard. One time at summer camp we watched the storm from the doorway. I watched in amazement at the storm clouds forming right before my eyes like smoke rising from a chimney against the backdrop of a distant and blue sky. It gave the illusion that the clouds were just several meters above our heads. Though the storm may not have been that close in height, I was right in that it was directly above us because after the storm had passed, we saw that a tree, not 10 meters from where we were standing, was hit and felled.

And likewise at the moment there is a storm right above me. I heard two frighteningly loud strikes of lightning very close by in the past couple minutes. Flashes of lightening, only microseconds apart causes one to wonder what is at work in the heavens. Such storms bring one to wonderment and awe at the power of nature and subsequently the Creator of it. Archaic strands of thought leave me sympathetic to the stomach churning fear people could develop for a deity attributed to throwing lightning bolts. Rain is pouring from above as if there is a fire brigade from the 18th Century on my roof attempting to put out a fire. And just a few minutes ago my lights went out. It’s going to be a rough day. I’ll have to remind myself to go get some candles next time I go out. I suppose I’ll keep myself busy reflecting on The Word and reading some ebooks on my laptop until the battery dies out. There’s no telling when the light will come back on.

Aside from storms, another peculiarity about Ukrainian climate is the daylight. As the latitude of Ukraine is more Northern than I’m used to, the sun never really goes down here in the summer. There is maybe a 3 hour period between 1AM and 4AM where it is darkest, but I’ve seen complete darkness only a handful of times. And when it comes, it is dark, for there are no streetlamps here in rural areas. As some of you may know about my erratic sleeping patterns, I wake between 2-3 times every night and so when I look outside I see that it never really gets dark. By 5AM on most days, the sun is already up. And even at 11PM, there is still twilight. I’m not looking forward to winter when the inverse is true. I’ve been told that it gets dark by 5PM and stays that way until the late morning.