Stormy Weather

Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky,

Stormy weather.

Since my man and I ain’t together,

Keeps raining all the time.

Harold Arlen wrote the achingly lovely song, Stormy Weather, in 1933.  Arlen was a US composer, but I wonder if he might have been inspired by the Irish climate. 

According to the Irish Meteorological Service Online, while it might seem like it rains every day in Galway, the average number of days in a year during which it rains more than one millimeter on the west coast of Ireland is about 225.  So that’s only two days out of three.  Only. 

Considering the droughts I’ve experienced in Nebraska, it does feel like it “keeps raining all the time.”

There is no way to avoid rain here.  I am, however, lucky.  I work out of my apartment so I can mostly choose when I venture outside.  I keep one eye on the hourly forecast on Weather.com and the other eye on the weather outside my window.

A man takes a picture of Galway Harbor from under his umbrella in the rain

While an umbrella is a necessity, high ocean winds can render it useless.  I have learned a lot about how to negotiate the weather by watching other people.  For example, most people seem to wear a raincoat with a hood or a rain hat.  I had neither of these when I arrived.  I recently purchased a beautiful rain hat and my next guest, Paula, is delivering my new Lands End hooded raincoat on Saturday. 

Rain hat!

I did my research before I started this sabbatical so I knew Ireland was a rainy country and that the west coast of the country experienced more rain than the east.  What did surprise me, though, was the lack of thunder and lightening.   I did a little web search and found a discussion board on the topic.  Someone who calls himself “Paddy.1” wrote: 

Ireland as a whole has the lowest thunderstorm rate in all of Europe, largely due to being a relatively small, maritime influenced island that is really too far north for any sufficient heat to build up.  When thunderstorms do occur, they tend to be quite brief, weak and localized affairs most of the time when compared to the bigger and more regular organized storms that larger landmasses tend to experience. 

Apparently there was a notable exception in 1985.  A number of responders had distinct memories of a fierce storm with never again seen amounts of lightening.

I have heard many locals complain about the rain.  I'd likely complain, too, if I had to make my way to work in a storm every two out of three days.  I might feel different in February or March, but so far I don’t resent the rain.  It brings the beautiful green colors of the country.  And shockingly large rainbows.  

A web search for lyrics taught me that there are a number of songs entitled “Stormy Weather.”  Here’s the end of “Stormy Weather” by Leo Sayer:

            Why should we always have stormy weather?

            Why should we have it so rough?

            It’s not so hard just to stay close together.

            Why can’t we only have love?