Dear Diego,

You asked about the weather here in Charleston. Most of the time, it’s warm and humid. It can get cold from November through February. It rarely snows. We sometimes have ice ice storms and the bridges freeze. The rest of the time, it’s warm. July and August can be very hot.

Normally, we get plenty of rain. Sometimes we get too much rain and the city floods. I’ve included a funny picture from one of our storms. There was so much rain, the Market flooded. The Market is a historic building downtown Charleston. Tourists like to go there. On that day, there was so much water inside the Market that you could paddle a boat through the shops!

Kayaking in the Flooded Market

Sometimes big storms called hurricanes come here from the Atlantic ocean. The most famous one in Charleston happened in 1989. It was named Hugo. I’ve included a satellite picture of it. Hugo made landfall just north of downtown. It blew trees down and washed a bridge off its foundations. It damaged lots of buildings and flooded most of the city. It also came inland all the way to the city of Charlotte, which is where I was living at the time. I was 12 years old. I was in 7th grade. The storm damaged so many trees and buildings that the whole city closed down for weeks. It was scary, but I was safe the whole time. Luckily storms that bad only happen about once every one hundred years!

Satellite image of hurricane Hugo

Even though storms can be scary and destructive, good things can still happen. After Hugo, many of my neighbors worked together to clean up. We helped each other clean up fallen trees. We shared water, food, and electricity.

One summer day, my church choir had a picnic. After some gentle rain, there was a beautiful rainbow. Rainbows remind us of God’s promise to Noah that he will never flood the whole world again.

Rainbow at the Duncan’s May 14, 2011

Luke 8:22-25 tells about how Jesus and his disciples were in a boat when a storm blew in. The disciples were afraid, but Jesus calmed the storm and told them they could trust him. Storms happen, but they don’t last forever. The tide goes out. The flood drains away. We mourn for what has been lost. We clean up. We take care of each other. God takes care of us through it all.

I read in the news that your country [El Salvador] is suffering from violence among criminal gangs. I pray every day that you and your family are safe.

— Garrett Mitchener