Saturday 20 June 2015

Ahead of the storm

Meteo.pl had forecast a day of intense downpours, with rainfall off the scale (which goes up to 30 litres of rain per square metre per hour). The deluge was meant to hit Warsaw around 14:30 this afternoon. This morning I drove the children to Łódź; returning towards Warsaw, near the airport, I thought to myself - this is it...


It wasn't. Had lunch, looked at the forecast again - yes, plenty of rain still expected. A bit later. I thought I'd chance to take a walk beforehand. Not too far - the heavens may open. I walked to Dawidy Bankowe via Zamienie, then took the path back across the fields towards Jeziorki. Looking back, below, I could hear rumbles of thunder. The sky was looking ominous. Yet the wind was from the north-west; the storm could by-pass me yet.


Below: ripening wheat waiting for rainfall. This is Warsaw, within the city's boundary, yet the scenery is agricultural.The S79 may come through these fields one day, connecting the S2 and the airport with the S7 somewhere south of Janki. Maybe. Convenience vs. rural peace.


Below: across the tracks, back in Jeziorki, at the western end of ul. Kórnicka. A brooding landscape under dark, roiling clouds.


Below: by the tracks  a giant dandelion grows. Nature is at its most bountiful at this time of year.


Below: Jeziorki, across the pond from ul. Dumki. It must be raining heavily in Janki; here, it's bone dry. Note the algae in bloom on the water. Vast clouds of small, non-biting flies are swarming. No dragonflies to be seen, sadly.


There is rain, but not in Jeziorki. I get home, entirely dry. An hour later it starts to rain. Not too heavily. I check meteo.pl. The 30l/m2/h rain that was forecast for today is now forecast for tomorrow. At 14:30. Click to enlarge photos. (It's worth it!)


This time two years ago:
Fashionable bicycles for Warsaw's hipsters

This time three years ago:
On Jarosław Gowin and leadership in Polish politics
[This man could have been Poland's premier today. And a good one, too. But no. He just had to go off on one on his own.]

This time four years ago:
Death of a Polish pilot

This time five years ago:
Doesn't anyone want to recycle my rubbish?

This time six years ago:
End of the school year

This time seven years ago:
Midsummer scenes, Jeziorki

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