Hello to everyone everywhere! I've never thought that one day I will be writing a geography-lesson-like post about weather and nature. But, living for a couple of years in a subtropical climate and talking to people that haven't traveled much to other parts of the country I've come to a conclusion that maybe it's not such a bad idea to write about something boring. And who knows, maybe my "boring" will be "interesting" for somebody. So, after having to answer such weird questions like: Don't you have alligators in Ukraine? Or, How does it feel to have enough snow to build a snowman? here I am, writing about weather and nature!
Ukraine has a temperate continental climate. What the heck is that??? Ha ha ha. I didn't know myself until I moved to a thin strip of land in between two big bodies of water. Yes, yes, I did study it at school but in child's head "a temperate continental climate" makes not that much sense. Now I am old and smart and I can easily explain to you what it stands for: Ukraine is located pretty far away into the mainland from our biggest weather influencer in the region - the Arctic Ocean and all other cold waters like the Baltic Sea or the North Sea. So the cold air from above those cold water still does reach us but doesn't define our weather 100%. We do have cold and snowy winters but with occasional snow breaks. Our winter usually starts at the end of November and lasts till the beginning of March. We can have some snow earlier into November, or it can occasionally snow in April, but a major amount of snow we receive in December, January, and February. Our summers are warm and nice, June can be rainy and chilly which is a bit disappointing since our May can be warm and sunny. July and August usually are definitely warm in a summer way. The recent tendency is to have a lot of very high-temperature days in August, I mean more than 100F. However, we don't have very high humidity and very often after a hot summer day comes a very comfortable warm night with some breeze. Springs and falls are pretty enjoyable with some amount of chilly and gloomy days. However, if we didn't have some grey days, would we really cherish the sunny ones? Since our climate is a moderate one, don't expect to see some very exotic plants in Ukraine. But then again, it all depends on what you call "exotic". As for me, for instance, it was always pretty unusual to see magnolias and yuccas blooming next to the entrance to my University every spring. For some reason, I thought that those plants don't like countries with "chilly" winters like Ukraine. The most exotic plants are growing in Crimea. They have some kind of palms unlike any other southern region of Ukraine.
The nature of Ukraine is awesome! We are not as big as the USA, for example, but you can still find a great variety of landscapes: rivers, lakes, ponds, forests, a desert, mountains, hills of different sizes, shapes and structure, canyons, quarries (I know they are not natural formations, but when they get filled with crystal clear water it looks marvelous), sand beaches, pebble beaches, rocks, rapids, caves and estuaries. The Carpathian mountains are a very cool place to visit any season. And if you are really into nature, I would definitely recommend you to hike there, whether it's winter or summer. My personal must-see list for the nearest future consists of such places:
- Stokhid river, a unique place in the north of Ukraine, a river that is considered to be a Ukrainian Amazon (I mean the river, not the company run by a bold guy) because it has so many arms that you can travel along on a canoe or kayak.
- The mountain Pip Ivan, the third tallest peak of the Ukrainian Carpathians. There are ruins of a meteorological and astronomical observatory called the White Elephant on top of it, and the views that open from its height are extraordinary.
- Buky canyon, an incredibly cool looking place with steep rocks forming a path for a river. It's not the Grand Canyon, of course, but as I've mentioned before the territory of Ukraine is much smaller than that of the USA (16 times smaller), so our natural wonders are like a smaller version of world-famous landmarks though they are still extremely beautiful and exciting.
So whether you are a city-person or a nature-person, or, maybe, a mix of both, you will be able to find something that will soothe your eye and give rest to your mind when you visit Ukraine or stay there for an extended period of time. As we say in Ukraine: the weather can be one's mother or one's stepmother, it all depends on your mindset!
Try to enjoy your every day and behave no matter where you are on this globe.
Sincerely yours!
All the photos except one are taken by me. All right reserved.
Ukraine has a temperate continental climate. What the heck is that??? Ha ha ha. I didn't know myself until I moved to a thin strip of land in between two big bodies of water. Yes, yes, I did study it at school but in child's head "a temperate continental climate" makes not that much sense. Now I am old and smart and I can easily explain to you what it stands for: Ukraine is located pretty far away into the mainland from our biggest weather influencer in the region - the Arctic Ocean and all other cold waters like the Baltic Sea or the North Sea. So the cold air from above those cold water still does reach us but doesn't define our weather 100%. We do have cold and snowy winters but with occasional snow breaks. Our winter usually starts at the end of November and lasts till the beginning of March. We can have some snow earlier into November, or it can occasionally snow in April, but a major amount of snow we receive in December, January, and February. Our summers are warm and nice, June can be rainy and chilly which is a bit disappointing since our May can be warm and sunny. July and August usually are definitely warm in a summer way. The recent tendency is to have a lot of very high-temperature days in August, I mean more than 100F. However, we don't have very high humidity and very often after a hot summer day comes a very comfortable warm night with some breeze. Springs and falls are pretty enjoyable with some amount of chilly and gloomy days. However, if we didn't have some grey days, would we really cherish the sunny ones? Since our climate is a moderate one, don't expect to see some very exotic plants in Ukraine. But then again, it all depends on what you call "exotic". As for me, for instance, it was always pretty unusual to see magnolias and yuccas blooming next to the entrance to my University every spring. For some reason, I thought that those plants don't like countries with "chilly" winters like Ukraine. The most exotic plants are growing in Crimea. They have some kind of palms unlike any other southern region of Ukraine.
The nature of Ukraine is awesome! We are not as big as the USA, for example, but you can still find a great variety of landscapes: rivers, lakes, ponds, forests, a desert, mountains, hills of different sizes, shapes and structure, canyons, quarries (I know they are not natural formations, but when they get filled with crystal clear water it looks marvelous), sand beaches, pebble beaches, rocks, rapids, caves and estuaries. The Carpathian mountains are a very cool place to visit any season. And if you are really into nature, I would definitely recommend you to hike there, whether it's winter or summer. My personal must-see list for the nearest future consists of such places:
- Stokhid river, a unique place in the north of Ukraine, a river that is considered to be a Ukrainian Amazon (I mean the river, not the company run by a bold guy) because it has so many arms that you can travel along on a canoe or kayak.
- The mountain Pip Ivan, the third tallest peak of the Ukrainian Carpathians. There are ruins of a meteorological and astronomical observatory called the White Elephant on top of it, and the views that open from its height are extraordinary.
- Buky canyon, an incredibly cool looking place with steep rocks forming a path for a river. It's not the Grand Canyon, of course, but as I've mentioned before the territory of Ukraine is much smaller than that of the USA (16 times smaller), so our natural wonders are like a smaller version of world-famous landmarks though they are still extremely beautiful and exciting.
So whether you are a city-person or a nature-person, or, maybe, a mix of both, you will be able to find something that will soothe your eye and give rest to your mind when you visit Ukraine or stay there for an extended period of time. As we say in Ukraine: the weather can be one's mother or one's stepmother, it all depends on your mindset!
Try to enjoy your every day and behave no matter where you are on this globe.
Sincerely yours!
All the photos except one are taken by me. All right reserved.
Zakarpattia, a region behind the Carpathian mountains bordering with Hungary and Slovakia
Zakarpattia, June
The Carpathian Mountains, winter 2019. This photo was taken by my friend and teacher Yaroslav Hrynyshyn
Winter in fall, unexpected snow in October.
Sunset near the river Desna
Golden fall, Kyiv
Fall
Yellow leaves in the snow.
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