Thunder and Lightning

Short post this morning - with only one picture - it has been a crazy week! On Sunday morning at around 2am, we had our first intense Congo rain. It has rained (gently) before (once) but overall our days have been just (1) sunny or (2) slightly overcast. All the returning teachers have been telling us that this would change, and boy did it ever. The thunder and lightning that arrived on Sunday were incredibly intense, and the rain poured down with much more power than the little gentle shower we had had in August. I absolutely loved the way it made everything smell so fresh and look so green - just gorgeous. I know getting woken up at 2am may get old, but for now I look forward to the next thunder storm!

Now for some slightly more practical information - we are nearing the end of the dry season (hence the start of the rain) It has been really pleasant weather, warm but not too warm unless you are doing more strenuous physical activity. Apparently, with the thunder storms, comes much more humidity and heat (although people say it is still bearable) I will wait to pass judgement until I have felt it, but I am hoping that I will feel that way too (we'll see how my frizzy hair feels about the situation!) Also, Congo is a super lightning concentrated area:

http://geology.com/articles/lightning-map/lightning-map.gif

So we are advised to get in the habit of unplugging everything we are not using... I am better about it some days than others (it's hard to feel urgency when the lighting hasn't started en force yet) but I am sure that once the rainy season starts I will get better about it. We have to unplug our intercom system in our classrooms, all computer chargers, and the air conditioners so they don't get fried by lighting strikes. Looking at the above map, you can see why!

Lastly, I have been reading King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild to try to get to know Congo better. It had an interesting passage pertaining to the weather. 

Henry Morton "Stanley’s journey solved another geographical mystery . The Congo begins and ends below the equator, but the top part of its great half-circle lies above the equator. In central Africa, the equator is the rough dividing line between the dry and rainy seasons: when it is one above the line, it is the other below. Therefore , whatever the time of year , part of the Congo’s course passes through land being drenched with rain and part through dry country. This explained why, over the course of a year, the Congo’s flow varied much less than that of other tropical rivers."

Hochschild, Adam (1999-09-03). King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Kindle Locations 889-893). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition. 

It's a really interesting book with lots more facts and info about the Congo... I am slowly making my way through it. I hope your weekend is just wonderful!