Adapting to the climate in Hungary

I have UK friends that rave how great the weather is in Hungary.
I however was raised in S. Cali and lived for years in Hawaii.
I have experienced real "paradise" weather wise.
For me I find fall and winter are interesting in Hungary, never did snow before and love being able to wear real winter clothing.
I sometimes do find it hard to layer and layer for winter as I am not an expert on dressing just to keep warm.
My husband who was born in the late 40's in Hungary remembers Hungary being allot colder then it has been over the past few decades.
He remembers the Danube being frozen over, hardly see a "real" Hungarian winter anymore he says.
Glad of it personally as the winter is cold enough for me as it is.
When I can not stay outside  for more then 2 hours at a time, then it is cold to me.
I am usually one of the first people in Budapest to start wearing gloves, hats and a winter coat, to me it is freezing for 6 months a year in HU.
Have no great advice on how to stay warm in HU. I had the heater on and still went to sleep with a t-shirt, another t-shirt, a sweat shirt, a wool sweater, a pair of warm socks, bottoms , 5 blankets  a wool hat and a FUR coat, still was freezing my bottom off.
I have only spent a total of 5 winters in HU in all the years I have either lived here or been just a visitor.
There is a good reason why older people move to the high desert in the US, much better for the old bones. The damp and humid winters are horrible if one has any old injury to their bones.

At this moment, I'd suggest air conditioning.

Other times, multiple forms of heating.

Oh, an umbrella some of the time.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My husband who was born in the late 40's in Hungary remembers Hungary being allot colder then it has been over the past few decades.
He remembers the Danube being frozen over, hardly see a "real" Hungarian winter anymore he says.

In the Hungarian Novel "The Man with the Golden Touch", published in 1872, there are descriptions of the Balaton thickly freezing over, and huge jagged mountains of compressed ice on the Danube. No, you really do not see that these days.

Priscilla wrote:

What are the climate characteristics of Hungary?

Mid-continental climate, with a hint of Mediterranean in the South West. Cold winters, warm to hot humid summers. It snows every year I have been here, but it may stay on the ground only a few days in some years, or for weeks in other years. So it varies.

Priscilla wrote:

How does the local weather impact your daily life, mood or health?

Occasionally in the winter it can be overcast for weeks on end. That can get depressing.

Priscilla wrote:

What are the pros and cons of the climate in Hungary?

I guess the biggest pro is for agriculture. Summer rains means little need for irrigation, for example.

But that can also be a con since those rains often come in July/August which is the "beach" season, so it can make some vacations, and outdoor events, wet.

I have only been here since December so i am just commenting on what i have seen so far! he hee

I grew up in southern California(San Diego) and central California(Vallejo which is right outside San Fran). Also lived in north and central Mexico. Lived in Colorado, Montana saw lots of snow there! Then lived central FL before we moved to Budapest but were in Norway(in Dec mind you and Oslo was light but when i went up north in Trondheim it was dark) for awhile before coming to Budapest. I also lived in Germany for awhile and my father has had many visits to Spain, England, north and south Italy and France. He has also been to Egypt various parts of north Africa and Mid East. He was born and raised in Nebraska which is geographically simlar to Hungary.

So other than Asia we are well traveled and seen many climates!

That said it is not the tropical jungle type climate of central FL which drove my allergies nuts or out west in the dessert which was bad for my health also. So Hungary has been good for me health wise. And the hottest weather here is still much more a relief than central fl! We did get fans in our little flat so it is nice.

Now the this past winter was much warmer than i expected, now i am just talking this past winter from early December 2015 and it was warm to me! I thought it was going to be more like Norway but it was warm here. Then it has warmed up more and quicker than i thought also. I would of liked it a bit colder here.

But then i hear from many people even this guy i met that was in his 20s that said when he was a kid Budapest was much colder and the Danube would freeze so i guess this hot weather is a recent thing? Well we plan on living here for many years so i guess i will live threw a few more winters and give a more educated review! he hee.

The rain here is like nothing to us. Course central FL is like one of the lighting capitals on earth and we get extremely heavy rains and storms and sometimes hurricanes so Hungary is like nice cause we can enjoy the rain and it does not stop us from doing things to that is good.

I do not ski or anything like that, but i just like it cooler. My mom's family is from northern Germany and my dad has northen Italy and Dutch in his background so i guess it is the cooler weather fits me.

I think things have changed a bit climate wise. I have seen ice in the Danube a couple of times but it's got to be really cold for a long time to do that.  Don't remember it ever freezing over.  I've noticed the winters are much milder than they were before (circa 20 years) and there has been less snow each winter.   I also think it's cloudier than previously.  Summer seems to come later as well. 

It used to be you could say, almost to the day when good weather would come. It was like clockwork.  Bit more unpredictable. 

So much so, I've started looking at the weather forecast each day.

Wonder if HARP has anything to do with the global climate changes, will not get into my big bro ideas here however...
I tend to get depressed or rather more dull minded in the winters when it is grey outside everyday for weeks on end.
On the other hand it is fun to walk through the cold grey city wearing real winter clothing and coming home to a warm flat.
New to me actually, Calif. was sunny more days then grey.
Hawaii did rain often but no one ever even used an umbrella, it was warm and there was always a rainbow afterwards. Well worth a few showers to have rainbows.
For now I am in Hungary and must enjoy what it is, we only have the now.
Long term plans are to follow the sun.
I know many hundreds of years ago, Hungarian Kings were crowned on the Danube, it froze over so much that horses, carriages and crowds would all be standing in the middle of the Danube.
I doubt I would survive even one winter if it was still that cold in HU.

fluffy2560 wrote:

So much so, I've started looking at the weather forecast each day.

Weather predictions have actually gotten really good over a 1 to 2 day period. For example, I have a http://www.accuweather.com widget on my browser and it shows predicted weather for the next 5 days. It is actually pretty good. But not perfect. So I still look at my barometer and hydrometer each day. For example, Accuweather is reporting some rain today. My barometer says no. From experience if they do not match, my local barometer is usually the correct one.

I can tell if there will be rain by the aching in my bones, no rain today perhaps late tomorrow, morning should be clear with a few clouds.
Humid conditions for the next 10 days.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

So much so, I've started looking at the weather forecast each day.

Weather predictions have actually gotten really good over a 1 to 2 day period. For example, I have a http://www.accuweather.com widget on my browser and it shows predicted weather for the next 5 days. It is actually pretty good. But not perfect. ....

Only 1 or 2 days.  I think that's not that good.  It should be a week really. I find that Accuweather app to be not that great.  The BBC weather site is absolutely terrible.   Looking out the window and tossing a coin is more accurate.

Here's the local weather from the horse's mouth so to speak: HU weather

Webcams quite good.  Lightning map interesting. 

This is quite a tidy, nicely presented weather web site: Norwegian Weather Site

fluffy2560 wrote:

Only 1 or 2 days.  I think that's not that good.

Well, nothing it perfect. But if one wishes, one can just extend the old saying with: There are lies, damn lies, statistics and weather predictions.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Hawaii did rain often but no one ever even used an umbrella, it was warm and there was always a rainbow afterwards. Well worth a few showers to have rainbows.

I have spent enough time it various tropical locations (even briefly in Maui) to agree with this.

In other words: It is warm. It is raining. I get wet. Meh. In an hour the sun will be out. And I will dry.

On the other hand, living in the Pacific North West, near the ocean, where Pacific storms blew rain not just sideways, but also "upwards", I dressed like a north sea fisherman when I went out. Umbrellas were useless there. And in fact that weather was so much ingrained into my behavior, I have not owned an umbrella since.

Ive only been in Budapest in winter the majority of times, there was snow and it was cold, cant comment on less snow than before, only been to Buda 4 x. Last week was the 1st time for me in summer and heck was it hot!!! From what I have heard it was unusual for Buda to get so hot. However due to the billions of carbon footprints changing the climate as the human population keep on increasing this might become more frequent

Jennifer_BudaVar1014 wrote:

Ive only been in Budapest in winter the majority of times, there was snow and it was cold, cant comment on less snow than before, only been to Buda 4 x. Last week was the 1st time for me in summer and heck was it hot!!! From what I have heard it was unusual for Buda to get so hot. ....

It's predictably hot in Hungary each year.  In most cases you can almost set your watch/calendar for the weather changes.  In the 20 years I've been involved with Hungary, only a couple of years I can definitely remember where it hasn't been strictly on a timetable.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's predictably hot in Hungary each year.  In most cases you can almost set your watch/calendar for the weather changes.  In the 20 years I've been involved with Hungary, only a couple of years I can definitely remember where it hasn't been strictly on a timetable.

I have been keeping rather detailed weather records for some years now. And this was true, until around 2013. But since then basically every month's weather since and including that year has been different to some extent from the prior, more predictable, months from years before. Things seem to be not only changing, but changing rapidly.

klsallee wrote:

.... weather since and including that year has been different to some extent from the prior, more predictable, months from years before. Things seem to be not only changing, but changing rapidly.

Yes, this year, Spring came later, it rained a lot more and was colder.