What's the Weather Like in Hungary?

Yesterday we heard from Misha, our assistant in Hungary who helps us with the INSTE work while we are in the US.  Misha mentioned that his daughters, ages 6 and 8 were a little worried about us when they saw on the news the report about the bitterly cold temperatures here.  They asked their dad, "Are Uncle Mike and Aunt Nancy going to be okay?"  Yes, Anasztasia and Veronika, we are okay.  Thanks for thinking of us. We were careful not to stay outside in the cold and wind. We thank God the weather is warming up already.

One of the questions we are asked frequently is, "What is the weather like in Hungary?  Is it really cold and snowy like it is in Germany and Ukraine?"  The short answer is, no, it is not as cold and snowy as places further north in Europe.  But we do get snow in winter and we do have heat waves in the summer.  One way to explain what the weather is like is with average temperatures.  Here in Des Moines the average January high and low are 31 and 14 degrees.  In Debrecen, the average January high and low are 35 and 25 degrees.  It seems to us that Hungary is a little warmer in winter than Iowa is.  In summer in Des Moines, the average July high and low are 86 and 67 degrees.  In Debrecen, they are 81 and 62, not quite as hot as Iowa.  It seems to us that Debrecen is not as humid as Iowa, either.

So, we are blessed to live in a beautiful country like Hungary that has four seasons but very rarely has extreme weather like we experience here sometimes in the Midwest.