Weather shock
It's been a little over the month since I've been here and today I was able to feel exactly how much close I am to the equator. It was 20oC in the shadow and few degrees more in the sun so I was walking around in my tank top.
When I was coming from Poland I knew I was going south. From my point of view this is far south indeed. If I was still on my previous longitude then I'd be in Africa. Of course due to different climate of the North American continent it's colder. Or rather Europe is warmer then other continents. From Gulf Stream heating up the water to extremely long coast line that allows the mild sea climate reach as far as Poland and Sweden Europe enjoys much milder temperatures then it's latitude suggests. My favourite example - New York is on basically the same latitude as Naples. The winters in Naples are warmer then in North Carolina where I am and which is considerably further south then New York. On the other hand summers are colder. This is sign of a continental climate with large differences in yearly (and daily) temperatures. As I said earlier Europe mostly has sea climate and that's why the closer one is to Atlantic the lesser chance one has to see snow during winter. Sea (well, ocean) warms land during winter and cools it during summer (same for night and day respectively) as water changes temperature slower then land. North America is one big piece of land mass and the fact that the mountain ranges are close to shores and the cold currents means the ocean air never reaches as far into the continent as it does in Europe. The continental climate is much harsher with colder winters and hotter summers. Also difference in temperature between night and day is larger. In Poland weather like that comes with eastern winds. From the Eurasian landmass the home of ultimate continental climate. For Poland it only happens occasionally but in Siberia that's the only way and that's why Irkutsk is much harder to live in then Warsaw despite being on the same latitude.
So why this overlong exposition? Well it's because when I came here I knew all of that. I also knew that since I'm going south the days will be longer. About 2 hours longer which is a lot. And the sun will be higher on the sky. Still when I landed straight from one of the harshest winters Poland had in recent history I was shocked. When I was leaving Poland it was -8oC during day and it looked like this :
When I landed in North Carolina it was +10oC. The sun was higher, the days were longer and I felt like I was magically transported to end of March, beginning of April. The feeling was only made stronger when I spotted this:
In January. Insane.
One of the first things I bought was sunglasses. And I was so glad I brought some light shoes with me. On the beginning of my second week here it was +18oC one day and that same day it was -18 in Poland at the warmest moment. Other days weren't as warm but it was mostly around 10 and sunny. And usually with below 0 temperatures at night with frost covering cars in the morning. The typical continental weather. Just in more subtropical version then in Siberia. In Poland April is sometimes like that when the wind comes from East.
This didn't last of course. This winter turned out to be a extremely harsh winter by local standards too. Good I managed to buy a winter jacket on sale a day before the snow (my old one self-destructed). Snow in North Carolina is a reason for constant appeals for people to stay at home, no school, problems with transport and general panic. Of course for me it was funny but I tried to understand - with no winter tires and hills everywhere it is hard to drive in such conditions. Especially without experience. And here you need car for everything.
But I had my snow boots, gloves, hat and new jacket - I was prepared and went to take photos (coming tomorrow in Part 2). BTW is walking some kind of sing of distress here? People keep stopping their cars and asking if I need help.
When I was coming from Poland I knew I was going south. From my point of view this is far south indeed. If I was still on my previous longitude then I'd be in Africa. Of course due to different climate of the North American continent it's colder. Or rather Europe is warmer then other continents. From Gulf Stream heating up the water to extremely long coast line that allows the mild sea climate reach as far as Poland and Sweden Europe enjoys much milder temperatures then it's latitude suggests. My favourite example - New York is on basically the same latitude as Naples. The winters in Naples are warmer then in North Carolina where I am and which is considerably further south then New York. On the other hand summers are colder. This is sign of a continental climate with large differences in yearly (and daily) temperatures. As I said earlier Europe mostly has sea climate and that's why the closer one is to Atlantic the lesser chance one has to see snow during winter. Sea (well, ocean) warms land during winter and cools it during summer (same for night and day respectively) as water changes temperature slower then land. North America is one big piece of land mass and the fact that the mountain ranges are close to shores and the cold currents means the ocean air never reaches as far into the continent as it does in Europe. The continental climate is much harsher with colder winters and hotter summers. Also difference in temperature between night and day is larger. In Poland weather like that comes with eastern winds. From the Eurasian landmass the home of ultimate continental climate. For Poland it only happens occasionally but in Siberia that's the only way and that's why Irkutsk is much harder to live in then Warsaw despite being on the same latitude.
So why this overlong exposition? Well it's because when I came here I knew all of that. I also knew that since I'm going south the days will be longer. About 2 hours longer which is a lot. And the sun will be higher on the sky. Still when I landed straight from one of the harshest winters Poland had in recent history I was shocked. When I was leaving Poland it was -8oC during day and it looked like this :
When I landed in North Carolina it was +10oC. The sun was higher, the days were longer and I felt like I was magically transported to end of March, beginning of April. The feeling was only made stronger when I spotted this:
In January. Insane.
One of the first things I bought was sunglasses. And I was so glad I brought some light shoes with me. On the beginning of my second week here it was +18oC one day and that same day it was -18 in Poland at the warmest moment. Other days weren't as warm but it was mostly around 10 and sunny. And usually with below 0 temperatures at night with frost covering cars in the morning. The typical continental weather. Just in more subtropical version then in Siberia. In Poland April is sometimes like that when the wind comes from East.
This didn't last of course. This winter turned out to be a extremely harsh winter by local standards too. Good I managed to buy a winter jacket on sale a day before the snow (my old one self-destructed). Snow in North Carolina is a reason for constant appeals for people to stay at home, no school, problems with transport and general panic. Of course for me it was funny but I tried to understand - with no winter tires and hills everywhere it is hard to drive in such conditions. Especially without experience. And here you need car for everything.
But I had my snow boots, gloves, hat and new jacket - I was prepared and went to take photos (coming tomorrow in Part 2). BTW is walking some kind of sing of distress here? People keep stopping their cars and asking if I need help.