Dark, wet, gloomy February - no winter

Grim blows from the west the remains of Storm Ciara (renamed 'Sabina' in Poland for some reason); wave after wave of dark clouds propelled by howling winds, bearing great amounts of rain. I dodged a shower and got to W-wa Jeziorki without getting wet... would I be so lucky during my stroll to the office?

Below: the area around Rondo Daszyńskiego is climbing skywards. Not good weather for the construction sector...

Outside W-wa Śródmieście station, the rain is chucking it down. So I nip through Patelnia and into the Metro Centrum station, along the shopping galery overlooking the platforms (below). This way I can get to ulica Złota in the dry, and then shelter under arcades of Ściana wschodnia (the old Wars, Sawa and Junior buildings) to get to the south-east entrance of Metro Świętokrzyska. Down the stairs and through the passages and I emerge outside the doors to my office - nearly dry.

Below: not so lucky on the way home; it wasn't raining when I passed the Palace of Culture, but the malignant threatening tower merited a snap.

Onward, not far to the entrance to W-wa Śródmieście station (on this side of Aleje Jerozolimskie from the Polonia Palace Hotel). Within a few seconds of taking this photo, the heavens opened and a tremendous downpour sent people sprinting for the nearest shelter.

My train was delayed for some reason, crawling between stations then stopping for ages; no explanation given (unlike those helpful Tube announcements in London). I arrive at W-wa Jeziorki, miss the 209 bus from the (still after all these years temporary) bus loop 'near' the station, and proceed home on foot in the teeth of the ongoing downpour. Usual story - no pavements, sides of ulica Karczunkowska turned into huge, muddy puddles. So I'm walking along the wet asphalt into the oncoming traffic, which mercifully is driving a bit more slowly and cautiously than usual. Once again, my message for local authorities is get some pavement laid here before someone gets killed again.

This time last year:
The filth and the fury
[Since then the paths to the station have been paved, but still no pavement alongside Karczunkowska]

This time four years ago:
Defining the human experience

This time six years ago:
The City of Warsaw wants you to complain

This time seven years ago:
Czachówek's wild woods in winter

This time eight years ago:
Vistula freezes over downstream of Warsaw 

This time nine years ago:
Twilight of the Ikars

This time ten year ago:
Polish TV adverts for parapharmaceuticals

This time 11 years ago:
Jeziorki wetlands in winter

This time 12 years ago:
A week into Lent