Siberian Weather

The first 8 weeks we were here were mostly nice and sunny, with a few gentle rains showers. Now we're getting a glimpse of what winter may be like, only it will be colder. There have been several storms recently that have made us glad we were inside. The skies suddenly open and rain comes down in sheets, driven by heavy winds. It's the kind of rain that annihilates umbrellas and makes any kind of rain gear like ponchos or raincoats ineffective, and people wish they were wearing their winter boots instead of sandals and tennis shoes. We watched out our window as the wind blew water up the slide at the playground.

A few days ago Dave got caught in one of the storms. Here's his account of it:
I was going to meet the Elders and an inactive member and had just gotten on the bus when it started. Numerous cars pulled over because the rain came down so fast and hard. I think maybe their windshield wipers don't work so they couldn't see. When I got close to the bus stop I texted the Elders to see if I should just ride the bus to the end, pay another fee and ride it home, but they said the meeting was still going to happen. Luckily for me, the bus driver drove up to the curb and I could run right into a store. Ten minutes later the rain stopped but the streets were flooded. Many people took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pants and walked across. The Elders and I took the long way around on high ground and stayed dry. When we walked back an hour later, only a few small puddles were left and all the vendors were out on the street again.

Yesterday and today there have been a few scattered showers. Yesterday evening the wind picked up and we had nearly 10 minutes of hard hail and wild winds. The hail wasn't big, just a lot of it being blown hard and driven nearly sideways. It only rained for another 1/2 hour and then the sun came out and the blue skies returned. Then a few hours later there was heavy rain without the wind and that continued throughout the night. We're amazed at how the water all disappears quickly. They must have a great drainage system, although we haven't seen any evidence of it (no culverts or ditches that we've seen). We assume the water drains into the Ob river.

It was fascinating to watch from inside our nice dry apartment. It reminded me of the times when storms have raged in my life. We haven't always been warm and safe and dry. Sometimes we were caught up in the swirling events surrounding us, which made the times when we were protected even more appreciated.

One nice thing about the rain is that we don't get drifting cigarette smoke coming in our windows.

It's a little hard to keep missionary hours (lights out by 10:30) when it's not dark at bedtime. The sun goes down now around 10:00ish, but it stays "twilighty" for a long time. I don't know when the sun comes up, but it's always very light by the time we get up.

Lately the high temperatures have been low 80s, which doesn't sound bad; it's the75+% humidity that kills us.

This week's Russianism:
They have small moving trucks here for local moving. When you want one, you call a central number and within 15 minutes there's a truck at your door. After everything is loaded, you climb in the cab of the truck and go with them. You get them for up to an hour for 200 rubles (about $7), but once they get to the destination they unload everything at the curb as quickly as possible and then leave--they won't help you carry anything inside. We used them to move chairs from the church to our apartment for a meeting. We joked about using them to meet some Elders (and luggage) who were transferred to our city--it's cheaper than a taxi!