Hot
It was only a few days back that I was sweltering in my house. There seemed to be no hiding from the intense heat as it climbed into the high 30's, touching on the 40's. Windows open, doors open, even a breeze could not bring reprieve. With these sorts of temperatures the excessive humidity only served to intensify the heat, exacerbating what was already an almost impossible situation.
There were various methods employed to try and escape. Icecream ranked high on that list, as did
tereré, the
mate drink here in Argentina served with the coldest cordial or softdrink you can conjure up. There is no difference between the two drinks in how they look, but the taste is miles apart.
Tereré gives the cordial a very pleasant taste. During this heat however, even the icey waters of
tereré was not enough to reduce the suffering.
Think Australian desert. It was hot.
Cold
But not so today. Last night it was so cold that I had to go and steal a blanket from storage just to stop me from shivering, and that was while I was lying in bed wearing a polar-fleece jumper. Things change here. Fast.
Today it is cold. The house is shut up tight and I can feel any tiny breeze as it comes in through any tiny hole it can find. Jeans and my trusty polar-fleece from last night keep me warm enough if I don't venture outside. My faithful flip-flops have been traded for some decent socks tucked inside warm hiking boots.
Tereré is not an option today. Instead we all return to
mate served with its customary near-boiling water. We appreciate all the warmth we can get.
Now don't get me wrong here. It is not polar arctic cold. The temperatures are not sub-zero and there are no icicles growing out of my running nose. These are truly extreme temperatures. No, it is not like that. But it is still cold. And compared with only two days ago it does feel somewhat like extreme weather.
Wet
So why is it so different now compared with only two days ago? Why, for that fact, does it change so drastically overnight as it did and does here? Why? The answer is simple. Rain.
There has been a distinct pattern starting to emerge now with every rain. It seems that just before rain comes there is a continual increasing in temperature. This climb in temperature is accompanied by an equal climb in the humidity until the two combined produce an exhausting heat. While the rain still has not arrived, this level of heat can hang around for several days or more.
The worst
I remember it was one night when there was a brown-out and we could not use any fans. I lay in bed sweating so fast that it felt like it was rain drops running over my body. Most times it does not get quite that hot.
Once the rain comes, the temperature drops remarkably and rapidly. The amount of time the rain hangs around directly affects the temperature. If it is only a short shower then the temperature becomes bearable for a short while before soaring back up into crazy heat once again. If it is for sufficiently long enough, which is hard to actually put a time frame on, then we end up with really pleasant temperatures for at least a couple of days. This is a good rain.
Sometimes, such as happened this time, the rain comes during the night and drops the temperature radically. If it then hangs around a bit longer, this temperature reminds us more of winter than of the late spring that we are currently living in. Such is our situation today. When the rain goes, we will once again start to experience the warm to hot but liveable weather customary for this season.
This pattern with rain and temperatures occurs throughout the year. If it is summer, the temperatures slightly towards the hot end. If winter, they shift towards the cold end. In fact, in winter, with a pattern like this coming through, it can sometimes drop to several degrees below zero.
Looking at the good part of this, it means that in every season our whole wardrobe gets a chance to be used. It also means that there will eventually be a break from the current weather, be it the heat of summer, or the cold of winter. Whatever the weather, it is great to have a change. So while I am shivering away here, I am still thankful for the few days that we are having which serve as a break to the heat of summer that is approaching with alarming rapidity.
Winter inside of Summer. It isn't such a bad thing.