the weather – brought to you by a sunny day

So it was one of those extended sunny weather weekends in the Dublin area, one with temperatures in the mid 70s, and people generally “roasting” in the sun and turning pink, in spite of all the sun cream used.  Yes, my fellow-Alabamians, it is not sun screen here, just sun cream.  In real moments of confusion, I have called it sun scream, which are words that describe what happens to your skin when you don’t wear the stuff.

On days like today, and even on really rainy days, people will ask me about the weather in Alabama, if I’m not either a) used to all the sun and missing it or b) totally annoyed with all the rain, not being used to so much rain.   And then, the truth comes out . . . . I like the weather here, in general.  The temperature suits me, how I love it.

But out of curiosity, and to better answer these questions that I’m asked about what I’m used to, I did a little reading and comparing the weather in Alabama  and in the Dublin, Ireland area.    One no-brainer is that in Alabama, there are fairly distinct seasons with fairly predictable temperatures.  In Ireland, there are some general expectations about seasons, but any given day could either deliver or completely surprise you.   In Alabama, there are no winter-like days in the middle of summer.  Ever.   But in Ireland, it’s totally possible.   Expect everything.   In the summer, leave the house in layers, take a rain jacket AND sun cream.

Here’s what blew my mind.   For all the wet days in Ireland, about 150 a year on average for the southeast, the average annual rainfall is only around 30 to 35 inches.  I found a statistic that indicated the north Alabama area has about 210 sunny-partly sunny days annually, which would mean 155 not sunny days (though not necessarily rainy).  However, average annual rainfall for that same area would be 55-60 inches.     Alabama is wetter than Ireland.   But only because when it comes down, it comes down in big fat drops, in fact, in sheets of rain.   None of this fine blowing mist stuff.   Water stands on the ground, in little pools, everywhere.   And then, the sunny days come and it’s dry, dry, dry.

To clarify (and who among you really wanted clarification?), what I read was not an apples-to-apples type of comparison, so it’s hard to say with clarity just how different it is for us here, weather-wise.  These things I can compare, however:

In Alabama, it rains so hard that at times, you must pull your car to the side of the road because visibility is zero.   In Ireland, I’ve yet to see anything approaching that kind of rainfall, even the days that are described as “lashing.”   Lashing days are just average rain for Alabama.

In Ireland, you can walk in the rain without being totally soaked.  In Alabama, that might be a rare occasion, but generally, you should “get in out of the rain.”

In Alabama, there are many many many warm and hot and scorching hot days in which it is possible to sit outside.  But most hot days involve sweating profusely and a large array of biting/stinging insects.  Therefore, Alabamians love air conditioning and sincerely appreciate a breeze.  Breezes just aren’t that common.

In Ireland, there are sunny days, but most of them are sunny and yet too cool to sit still outdoors in, say, shorts and a sleeveless top.   You can get away with that in a conservatory, which is why so many houses have them.  Sun plus warmth.   But this weekend was sun plus warmth out in the open.   That’s not that common.  Not for me, anyway, thus, the strange “tan lines” from my regular outfit kind of attire.

My personal truths?   I love the weather here, though I do miss my sun, but just the mild sun, not the scorching sun that turns grapes into raisins.  I do not miss the great sheets of rain, though occasionally, it’s fun to hear thunder (rarer in Ireland, much more so).  I do not miss the tornadoes or the really scary and frequent thunderstorms of spring, summer and autumn. I love the breezes off the Irish sea, I love air blowing through the open windows. I do not miss frequent flooding, flash-flooding.   I love being comfortable on most days of the year.   Do I mind the weather in Ireland?  Not at all.

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