"RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY"

The title of this blog is not a refrain that is heard much from Bermudians.  The island has no dams or rivers.   A few tiny lakes or ponds are dotted around, but are mostly brackish and surrounded by mangroves.  On the whole, if not for rain, the island would be inhospitable and uninhabitable. 

So, despite our occasional grumbling, it is a good thing that the island has a consistently high rainfall throughout the year.  We found that from December to March, the island experienced rain just about every day, in all it's different varieties.  January is considered to be the wettest month with about 150 millimetres, or 6 inches of rain.  At least the temperatures are usually a balmy 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, so that even if you get soaked at least you are not freezing cold as well. 

   Dark, full-bodied clouds gather on the horizon and roll in to produce anything from a water-soaking bucket down, or a thunder and lightning epic display.  Sometimes we get the fine drizzle type accompanied by fog and low lying grey cloud that seems as if it will settle in for days, and that leaves us staring out the window wondering when it will pass over the 2 mile wide island.  More often than not, it is a light, drenching downpour that peters out after an hour or so.  And once the sun peeks out again,  you can resume the usual outdoor routine.    

Because of the risk of rain on any given day, we always have access to our trusty umbrellas and rain jackets - either at the front door or in the car boot, or a backpack.  We will have to re-invest in a golf umbrella as the winds that sometimes accompany the rain quickly turn the feeble umbrellas inside out and are of no use. 

I have to say that I feel really sorry for Patrick when it starts to rain early in the day, when he has to don the cumbersome rain gear and bright safety vest for the ride into work by bike - I think I have to research bike helmets with windshield wipers on them for the future.  

Here's a double rainbow after a recent thunderstorm.