Monday, January 14, 2008

O What a Beautiful Moooorrrning

This, folks -- this excerpt from the weather report for tomorrow pretty much sums up what it's like to live in the Netherlands in January.

Hours of Precipitation: 7 Hrs
Hours of Daylight: 7.3 Hrs

Yes, I can attest that the two do, in fact, correlate almost perfectly. It rains only when I need to be shuttling the kids several kilometers to and fro by bike, and then it rains copiously. Comically. In all fairness, the word "Daylight" really should be in quotes given the cloud permacover. Oh, and don't forget the other key statistics:

High 44°F
RealFeel®: 28°F
Winds: S at 26mph
Wind Gusts: 52 mph

Is that really a 16-degree difference between actual temperature and wind chill? And gusts of fifty-two miles per hour? Surely they jest. There have been several occasions on which Aislin and I have been sure we were literally being blown backwards as we pedaled, and those winds were estimated around 40 mph. Maybe if the wind's blowing the right way we can just open our umbrellas and float into the station like Mary Poppins. Hopefully when there aren't any actual trains approaching.

Nothing in the world like a Dutch commute, I tell you.

1 comment:

Amy said...

Of course, that last day of foul weather was followed up by this:

Hours of daylight: 8.1
Hours of precipitation: 11.6

That's a day that calls for three martinis. Before getting out of bed.