Storm Threat
Yesterday, late in the afternoon, the office sent out warnings that another storm is highly possible in near future, yesterday or today, and to be aware. As far as I know (and all I saw of the last one was a lot of cloud-to-cloud lightning) if one is coming, it hasn’t struck yet.
But as the sun rises, I am looking at that dark spot out on the horizon, and looking at the thickening clouds and wondering if there is some instability we can’t see . . .
More Severe Weather Coming?
In todays Kuwait Times, Kuwaiti meteorologist, Dr. Saleh Al-Ojairi is quoted as saying that “the storm occurred because of the formation of a severe depression locally known as ‘Al Sarrayat.'” The Times goes on to say the “He also predicted severe weather conditions to reoccur in the near future.”
What does ‘Al Sarrayat’ mean?
Sunrise April 13, 2008
At 0700 it is 73°F / 23°C, and it is very hazy (look how the haze magnifies the size of the sun) but the sea has some color, a light hazy green. The haze looks like it may burn off a little later and the high is expected to be around 95°F/35°C.
I really did take this photo.
And now I will tell you, I tried to take photos of the lightning the other night. Most of it was just cloud-to-cloud and all I got were black photos with slightly lighter spots in them. AdventureMan instructed me that if I wanted lightning shots, I needed to set up a tripod and a timed exposure, but I think there is too much ambient light where I live to make that effective. So I found a great dramatic shot online and used it to illustrate. I sure didn’t mean to deceive you. I sure wish I had taken that shot!
Cloudy Kuwait Afternoon
7 April, and it is 81°F/ 27°C at 1445 on a cloudy afternoon, 21% humididy; feels like more. The best it has gotten all day is light grey.
Hubby had a few raindrops last night, on his car. Did anyone else?
Sunrise and the Qatteri Cat
The Qatteri Cat started getting restless around 4 a.m. this morning. This was entirely my fault; I forgot the check the cat food before I went to bed and around 4 he likes to have his main meal of the day, take care of toileting needs, scramble around the house, listen to all the noises on the street – it’s his time of day. I knew QC was hungry, but I couldn’t make myself wake up enough to feed him.
He is a very polite cat – he just keeps coming back. By 5:30 a.m. and his 5th or 6th greeting, I was ready to get up. And I really am glad I did, as the sun is rising these days around 5:44 and I was able to capture the beginning of what I believe is going to be a truly glorious day.
The high today will only be 93°F / 34°C; it is a balmy 70°F / 21° C at 5:56 in the morning.
The only meeting I had scheduled for today was postponed, and I have the entire day to devote to organizing my taxes. I don’t know why I make such a big deal out of it, put it off, all it takes is focus and just getting organized, but for some reason I dread doing it make it worse than it really is. I even have a reward for myself when I get it done, so what’s my problem?
Have a great day out there.
Kuwait Green
There is a miracle in Kuwait. Suddenly, there are trees a bright, Easter-basket-grass green.
“What kind of miracle is that?” you might ask, you who live in other climates.
That bright spring-green is a miracle in a land where the true blue of the blue sky is often screened with haze, where the dominant color is a white beige sand, and, most important of all, where there has not been a truly significant rain the entire rainy season here.
The color is painfully beautiful, the eye seeks it out and feasts on its vibrancy in an otherwise dull landscape. The tree that is showing the vibrant green is a little willowy, graceful. The green is probably only for a day or two before it fades into a duller green – still welcome because it IS green.
The second tree is my favorite tree in Kuwait, but I don’t have a single Kuwaiti friend who can tell me what it is. They tell me it is a very old tree, a tree that can live a long time on very little water, a tree often used to screen houses and provide both shade and privacy. I love the laciness on its leaves, the delicacy of its foliage. In contrast to the spring-green tree, the foliage is a more grey-blue-green, and it is a much taller tree. There is a delicacy about this tree, an elegant restraint and a timelessness that fascinates me. If I were Kuwaiti, if I had my own compound, I would grow this tree, I would grow many of them and watch their lacy branches sway in the slightest breeze.
Can someone tell me the names for these trees?
(PS I had to look up it – it’s + Possessive to be sure I got it right, above. I didn’t get it right at first, but it is right now. If you have any confusion, don’t be alarmed – it confuses all of us. If you click on the blue type, there is a very simple way to remember when to use it and when to use it’s.)
April Fool’s Sunrise
No, there is no trick. It is only an April Fool’s sunrise because of the date – April 1st – and because it was never clear whether the sun would really appear or not, with the thick clouds. I’ll take clouds over that haze of pollution any day. Or it may be that the clouds are obscuring the haze of pollution, which seems to be a daily occurence, so I won’t rule it out. I can’t SEE it, however, so I have no evidence of it being there, and I will be a great big April fool and tell myself if I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
At 0700 the temperature is 75°F / 24°C and there are thick fluffy clouds that – I wish – look like they could turn into rain clouds.
Sunrise Concern
When I see that distinct band of darkness just above the horizon, it makes me really nervous. It is surrounded by a sulpherous haze, and that may be just what it is, sulpher, used in processing oil. I can’t help but think it is not good for us to be breathing this.
It looks like it will be another sweet day, at 0730 it is 73°F / 23°C and the high today is supposed to be only 95°F / 35°C. If it is anything like yesterday, and it doesn’t touch 90°, I will be happy. If there is a sweet sea scented breeze, I will be even happier.
I am celebrating; I have a day at home today and I have so many things planned! I hope to get so much done! I love my days at home!
Saturday Sunrise
Wooo Hooo, the sky has normal clouds, the haze does not appear dusty, and Weather Underground: Kuwait says it isn’t supposed to go above 98°F / 37°C today or in the next five days – a spell of cooler weather! Thursday it hit 106° F – not untypical of summer, but March??
Dust Storm Headache
It’s early Friday morning, WeatherUnderground Kuwait says it is overcast, but I have that dust storm headache and almost-wheeze that tells me this is more than just an overcast. There is something in the air that I am not meant to be breathing.
Although I live in a very modern building, which would appear sealed, little drifts of sand come in through creaks. I can feel a draft in the kitchen, my curtains are dingy with dust that has seeped through crevices in window openings.
It isn’t easy to show someone what living in the middle of a dust storm is like, but I am trying.
Here is the sunrise this morning at 0600:
An hour later, at 0700, it is 77°F / 25°C, and the particles in the air are magnifying the sun so that it looks like this:
These are unretouched photos, straight out of the camera. The day is mostly a bright yellow-grey.
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