Seasons, Dust, Weather?

Seasons

Sometime mid fall my sister asked me if the leaves fell here. I honestly had no answer at the time A lot of leaves were missing from the trees but was it from the extreme heat, or the wind? I wasn't sure because many of the trees seemed to be growing new leaves at the time.. But eventually only the evergreens still had leaves and the others were completely bare. There are quite a few evergreens here; pines, olives, and magnolias. So even in the winter we had ample green.

Fall and Spring seemed so short in Louisville with a long winter and a long summer. So we were pleasantly  surprised by the length of fall and the pleasant temperatures. Sleeping with the windows open and many exploratory walks. 

Once winter hit the weather seemed to bounce between super windy with sun or supper foggy and clouds. We found ourselves bouncing from sunny spot to sunny spot on our walks to stay warm. We even saw snow one day. Heavy flurries that dusted the ground. But the fog was intense. I imagine that it is similar to the fog in San Francisco. We could not see across a soccer pitch and if the ball was kicked up it became impossible to track in the air. But the sunny windy days outnumbered the wet and dreary.

Spring crept in with the slow warming. I didn't pass a way through the park for three days and suddenly an tree was full of leaves. Then the almond trees put on a show. Right now we are discovering that the shrubs that line many of the roads are gardenias. The olives bloomed with clusters of miniscule white flowers that are now already turning to tiny fruits.

With Summer right around the corner we once again are following the shade in our strolls through the city. The AEMet (Spanish or European Meteorological Group) is predicting the hottest year on record for Europe, akin to 2022. It makes me appreciate that Zaragoza is essentially a desert. Shade means a real temperature drop of 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit. Even the slightest breeze helps. I invested in a hand fan a-la every Spanish lady I saw out in public last year. AND we bought summer passes to the municipal pools to try and keep cool.

Pink Snow

Spain has relatively mild winters compared to its counterparts in the US at similar parallels due to warm air moving up on a jet stream from Africa. An interesting side effect is pink snow in the Pyrenees Mountains. I saw a long news story on the subject about a multiyear study about the long time effects of the pink snow. The darker color leads to more melting and less snow pack which in turn seems to be making the long term drought affecting Catalan even worse.

The University of Zaragoza is part of an international research group studying the phenomena. I believe the photo above is from 2019 when even the Alps and part of England had pink snow. This year only the Pyrenees Mountains were affected.

Weather

In the US I had an inherent understanding of weather patterns. For the most part you could look west to see what was moving your way. During the winter Artic troughs could drop from Canada but still generally move West to East. And of course the the gulf stream that pumps warm air up through the Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast. But again once it hits land it tend to migrate east. 

I remember thinking that forecast were a bit flakey in the US but hey it is a best guess based on constantly changing data. Madre Mia! The weather patterns here are not something I understand yet. On a Monday morning I looked at the weeks weather and it was supposed to be in the 60's through Weds and sunny. When I opened the weather app 6 hours later the same day the forecast had changed to say temps in the upper 80's Tues and Weds and potential thunderstorms. Then by that night, they were calling for temps in the 70's and light rain. The whiplash of forecasts is the norm.

I personally find the weather map to be intriguing as well. During the fall and winter England appeared to regularly be in the midst of a hurricane. The huge swirling masses of rain and wind would sometimes migrate towards mainland Europe and sometimes dissipate. The Jet Stream from Africa thrown in the mix brings a lot of dust and warm dry air. The wind maps are amazing with hundreds of little arrows pointing every which way. 

Thankfully it was a wet winter or wetter winter than Spain has had in a few years and some of the reservoirs have rebounded to normal status. Unfortunately Catalan, including Barcelona, did not benefit from the winter's storms and remains in a sever drought. And it seems like the dry season is already upon us. The news was saying May's rainfall was less than average and they were not predicting a wet summer.