a "white" Mother's Day

Some people dream of a white Christmas. Here in Mongolia some may be dreaming of a white Mother's Day. We had a couple of inches of snow fall today. More snow tomorrow?

Warm weather is coming!

It's windy today, typical spring weather in Mongolia. However, it's not yet above freezing. I checked and the forecast says our first day of temperatures above freezing will occur in about ten days. I can't wait!

Weather update

It was 9〫F (about -13〫C) when I went out this morning about 8:30. How's the weather where you are at?

Is it cold where you are?

Here in Oregon we have been enjoying some amazing weather: sunshine and warm. It seems especially warm when you consider that Mongolia is going through a cold spell. The last two days have seen cold temperatures of nearly -40 (C or F) and highs of -10 (F). Wow! That's cold!

Weekly update

We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Kristie's family. It was a blessing to be with loved ones during the Christmas season. This week Kristie's grandparents are traveling from Idaho to spend some time with us. We are also glad to be in the Portland area during Christmas because the temperatures are much warmer here. Christmas Day in Ulan Bator the high was -15 F and the low was -40.

I have been busy with preparations to start traveling and some speaking opportunities at Westgate Baptist Church. It feels so comforting to minister in my native language.

The church in Ulan Bator, Mongolia continues to have good attendance. Please pray for the Pattersons this week. I'm sure that there is a certain loneliness in being in Mongolia at this time of year.

The cold weather is upon us

Every year this happens: the weather starts to turn cold, and I think to myself—I can handle this cold weather. And then the weather turns really cold. The first, I can handle this kind of cold weather has finally arrived. We have awoken the past two mornings to temperatures below zero. That is -17〫for those of you used to Celsius.

The weather is predicted to warm up into the low forties some this week before dropping into the twenties for a high by the weekend.

Still, as I mentioned before this is the I can handle it type of cold. In a month or so—after we leave—temperatures will plunge into below zero for a high and -30 or even -40 for a low. At -40 it does not matter whether you are using Fahrenheit or Celsius. It is the same temperature. And that's cold!

First snow

It snowed here yesterday just as forecast. I wanted to spend some time outside with a friend and man to whom I've been witnessing but the weather was too nasty yesterday: snow and wind. I've posted pictures of it out my window on a clear day and yesterday. It went from 84° on Friday afternoon to 32° on Saturday afternoon.

Cold weather is coming!

The weather here has been great recently. September is often like that; not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, mostly sunshine. But it looks as if cold weather is headed our way. Here is the weather forecast for the weekend:

Forecasters are predicting high winds over the weekend too.

Weather report from Outer Mongolia

The weather here has been wonderful recently! The high on Wednesday was 77° F. It has cooled down a little since then.

In previous years, they did not turn down the heat even as the weather grew warmer. This year they have been turning down the heat. The heat in the rooms where the church meets was off on Wednesday.

The children have been outside playing. I have been throwing a baseball with the children in the warm sunshine and walking in the morning to have a cup of coffee with a friend. He usually pays for the coffee.

It's getting warmer

We're glad that it's finally warming up! Last week we saw our first days with temperatures over freezing on consecutive days in months. Today, the temperature reached almost 50° F; it's a heat wave in March. A week ago the high was only 3°.

There will still be some more cold spells, and the most difficult part of spring is the wind. But for now, the children can play outside; and we can open the windows and let the fresh air in.

Another cold weather update

I mentioned yesterday that we had a cold front move in. The high on Saturday was -13° F and this morning when I checked it was -36° F. I hope this will be the last cold, cold weather of the year.

One last cold spell

We are hoping that this latest cold weather system is the last one for this winter. The Mongolians are happy because many of them are making their Tsagaan Sar buuz and freezing them. How cold is it, you ask? Well, the weather station says that it is -33° outside right now. The high on Friday was -2° F. I doubt it was that warm today.

Cold weather

It's cold!!! I've heard it said that Ulan Bator is the coldest capital city in the world. There may be colder cities, but they are not their nation's capital. Last winter, temperatures stayed above average most of the winter. This winter has been more normal.

What's normal, you ask? Yesterday's high temperature was -15° F. The low was even colder! Fortunately, temperatures are forecast to warm slightly over the next few days. We are still more than a month away from seeing temperatures above freezing.

Cold weather front

The cold weather has arrived. This about 8 AM it was -9° F outside. By 4 PM this afternoon, it had fallen to -20° F. The forecast for tonight calls for a low of -32. One person told me that this afternoon's temperature with the windchill factor was -52! I've been out three times today; it certainly feels cold.

Weather update

It looks like were expecting a little bit of a mid-winter heat wave. (Don't even tell me it's not strictly winter yet.) On Friday, the temperature did not even rise above zero. Yesterday's high was 7°. But this week's temperatures are to be near 20 above.

It's cold

The really cold weather has officially arrived. Preparing to go out at 8 yesterday morning I checked the weather. It was -9°outside.

That evening, I went to visit Togsoo. When I returned to my apartment after 10, I looked at the temperature again. It was -27°. That's cold.

An acquaintance of mine left his diesel LandCruiser out overnight on Monday night. He hasn't been able to get it started since.

The cold weather arrives

The weather here in Mongolia has turned cold. I woke up this morning and checked the temperature. How does 26 below zero sound? Actually, that was the temperature in Celsius; the temperature in Fahrenheit was only 15 below zero. Although those two temperatures are the same, fifteen below just sounds more comfortable to me.

First snow!

We woke up this morning to snow. It's our first snow since last spring. Winter won't be long now.

Winter is not done yet

It looks like winter is still trying to hang on. Yesterday, we woke up to snow on the cars. It was not cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground but when the wind blew it felt as if it were icy!

The high yesterday was only 48 degrees and with the wind it felt much colder.

Things are heating up ... but not the weather

Yesterday we had 15 Mongolian adults come to the service and 9 Mongolian children. I think that is the best attendance on a Sunday morning ever. People just kept coming in (the last person arrived about ten minutes before the sermon was over, but we are glad that he came). There were three first time visitors, two of whom were invited by Mongolians. I am excited about the possibilities. Pray for us as we follow up with these new folks.

I was greatly encouraged by the turnout Sunday since some of those who were regular attenders during the winter were still not there (see last Sunday's update). In the past, during the summer our numbers start to fall off as people leave the city for the countryside. So it was encouraging to me to see new visitors and have so many people come. We are just about to outgrow the place where we are meeting - and that is a good thing!

Wow! the weather here has been extreme. Yesterday, the high was 86°; today, it started off snowing in the morning. By 3 PM this afternoon, it was still snowing and the temperature was 41°. That is cold for this time of year.