A Weather Report With Military Precision

My uncle is a pilot and used to fly a lot of small planes. A few years ago, he and a friend decided to fly to the USA together in a one-engine plane. However, they decided to do this in January, and while it is the Brazilian summer, it is rather wet.

As they get to the north of Brazil, they find themselves surrounded by thunder clouds, and their little engine is soon straining under the amount of water being thrown at it. They need a place to land and fast.

Eventually, they manage to land at the military base near the most northerly town in Brazil, near the French Guiana border. There were four sergeants to greet them, looking a bit ridiculous in their t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. After some chit chat, my uncle gets to the point.

Uncle: “So, sirs, when do you think we can fly out of here?”

Sergeant: “Well, do you know the difference between winter and summer up here?”

Uncle: “Um, no.”

Sergeant: “Well, in winter it rains every day, in summer, it rains all day!”

My uncle gives a grunt of laughter, thinking the Sergeant is exaggerating, while the officers cackle with this clearly traditional line used with the oblivious southern.

Five days later, still grounded because of the non-stop rain, my uncle is forced to concede that the Sergeant did, in fact, have a point.