Krazy Kuwait Weather!

Hailstones on the ground after the crazy hailstorm on March 10th!

(Thx Nouf!)

It has been raining for the last week......that's right, I said RAINING! And not like a sprinkle here and there, I mean actual downpours. They are quick and sporadic, but they have been constant for the last 5 days and are still happening. Thunder and lightning has been a constant for the last week too! Because this weird weather system seems to have remained socked in over this tiny country, the clouds have been pretty low and the lightning and thunder has been low as well. With every deep boom, things shake and rattle and the thunder rolls seem to last a long time. It sooooo nice, as it reminds me so much of home! :)

Seeing as I am used to the crazy thunderstorms and thunder cells that spawn all kinds of windstorms and tornados that roll across the flatlands and foothills of Alberta, this is such a welcome sight and sound! :) Man, how I miss the summer storms we used to always get! Ok, maybe not the damaging hail that blew out all the north facing windows, shredded the vinyl siding and damaged the roof of my brother & sister-in-law's house one time, but definitely the light shows that illuminate the expanse of Prairie sky! Many a day have I wished for a good old storm to blow in....

And boy did I get my wish the other night! I was awakened at 3am to bright flashes of lightning, loud crashes of thunder and a very heavy downpour of rain that slammed against my window. I got up to make sure my apartment wasn't flooding (the lame seals on my apartment windows dry out from the intense heat during the rest of the year and then leak if ever there is any build up of water) and was startled as something really hard hit the window. I think I may have jumped back a good foot! It quickly turned into a loud barrage and I realized it had to be hail, although it sounded like large rocks. I was honestly thinking that my windows were going to smash out and was standing there quickly attempting to formulate a plan of action in case they did, as I live 10 floors up. It lasted maybe 5 minutes before the hailstones became much smaller and slackened their barrage on my windows. I looked on the ledge and there were large chunks of the hailstones, but no full ones. I opened the window and looked down at the ground and could CLEARLY see them. They had to be pretty big for me to be able to see them so clearly!!!! One of my kids sent me this picture of the size I'm pretty sure we got in Hawalli for those 5 minutes. Literally the size of Christmas oranges!!! Yeah, imagine those hitting your windows! All these pics are from my girls - thanks for all of them, girls!!! :)

Ridiculous size, yet that's what hailed down.......thx, Raneem! :)

The remnants on the grass....it's winter now, so yes there are patches of grass

that grow because of the nice weather! (Thx Raneem!)

Pic from another part of Kuwait where they were much smaller, but lots!

This is a rare site for this country! :) (Thx Dalal!)

And some more.....(Thx Nouf!)

Today, I went downstairs (I'm usually stuck up on the third floor all day...in the ONLY classroom on this campus that does not have a real window that opens to the outdoors) and had to cross the open courtyard to get to the other building that houses our cafeteria and Middle School classrooms. As it was STILL raining and there are gaps in the sun screens, I got a little wet crossing the courtyard and was surprised by the chilly breeze! I was struck by the smell and the cold chill in the air. For just a few seconds I closed my eyes and felt like I was back home. The Kuwait air for a brief moment smelled and felt like the spring air in Canada! It was surprising to say the least, as it almost always smells like the dust of the desert. (Yes, dust has a smell and it's gross!) All of this "crazy" weather will be over soon, but I hope everyone is enjoying it and "soaking" it all in! LOL Very soon the dusty air will return and the sun will begin heating everything up to extreme temperatures, as all that is green fades away.