Welcome to Winter

When I arrived in September, a number of people warned me that the weather forecast called for a bitter winter this year.  At the time, I believed it because we had a chilly September and the temperature dropped quickly enough that the heat was turned on in mid-October.  But then the temperatures plateaued and we had a surprisingly warm November.  The temperature hovered at 6-8 degrees Celsius (low to mid 40s Fahrenheit).  I wore my lined raincoat most of the month and only needed gloves at night.  But then the temperature dropped from a high of +8 to a high of -8 from one day to the next last week and winter arrived.  Today’s high in Kaunas is -11 degrees Celsius with a windchill factor of -18 — that means it feels like 0 degrees Fahrenheit.  Brrrrr!

Out came the winter wear — long underwear, two pair of wool socks, cap, heavier scarf and heavier gloves.  I also transitioned to the wool coat.  I haven’t yet made the jump to the down coat but if the temps drop much more, it will come out of the closet.

I think that the worst winter weather is when the temperature hovers just above freezing and it rains all the time.  The damp cold eats through me.  And yes, I know that I continue to live in Seattle despite the fact that this describes its winter weather exactly.  I actually prefer the weather to be a bit colder – about -6 Celsius/20 Fahrenheit usually brings a light snow that gets the moisture out of the air.  It’s easier to wrap up against the chill of a dry cold and there’s more likely to be sunshine.  I do have my fingers crossed that we won’t have the -20 Celsius real temps that are predicted.  That’s a bit too cold.