Tbilisi Wind

Sean and I have yet to live in a place with weather that is drastically different from home. Although, since Wisconsin is currently experiencing winter in it’s most brutal form with temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and blizzards dumping 8-12 inches of snow every other day, I guess you could say the craziest weather we’ve experienced IS home. Maryland has humid summers, sure, and Dushanbe and Tbilisi are both warmer in general, but still not such a dramatic difference.

There is one rather unique weather phenomenon here in Tbilisi: wind. I’ve tried doing some research as to why it’s so windy in Tbilisi, but I haven’t been able to find much explanation. We are kind of in the valley out here, so perhaps air is being funneled through the mountains? The Digomi and Zurgovani neighborhoods constantly vie for the title of “most windy,” perhaps it’s because we are slightly elevated than downtown? I really don’t know.

Sometimes the wind lasts for a few hours then dissipates. Sometimes it starts in the morning. Sometimes at twilight. Every night for my first few weeks in Georgia, the wind would pick up around 8:00 p.m. and continue long after we went to bed, but then quiet by morning. Sometimes it would coincide with a storm approaching. Sometimes the sky remained completely clear. Sometimes the opposite happens and the air is completely still for weeks at a time. I don’t feel like there is any particular rhyme or reason to Tbilisi’s wind.

I can usually hear it before I see it. We have old pine trees lining our yard so I can hear them sway and creak in the wind. Our garage door is metal so it will bow and flex, creating a banging sound. Wind will sneak into the chimney in our living room, creating a very odd sound that’s a cross between a woosh and a howl. The first time the dogs experienced this they were terrified. Now, it hardly fazes them.

I’ve yet to witness the wind reach a point where it becomes dangerous. Sure our garbage cans have been blown all over the yard, or the outdoor couch cushions, or the dog toys, but nothing like downed trees or power lines. In the little bit of literature I could find about the wind, it seems to be strongest in March, and then June and April. I haven’t been here for any of those months yet, so I’m curious to see if the intensity or frequency of those windy days increases.

Of all the crazy weather we could experience overseas (or at home), I know we are lucky to just have windy days. Perhaps our next post will have some more unique weather, but, for now, I’m happy my biggest concern is my hair being blown around.