Can I Move to Summer?
This Carnival is turning out to be a wet, sopping, mess. Parades and celebrations have been postponed to next weekend, as rain and high winds laugh at our attempts to enjoy ourselves. But, very possibly, next weekend celebrations will have to be postponed again. Rain and windy weather have been promised through the coming weekend.
We had been having a mild, temperate winter till now. Yes, we have had days of rain, but it hasn't really been violent. Until yesterday. Wind gusts of over a hundred kilometers per hour in the entire region. Red alert on the shore with waves of over twelve meters. Persistent, hard rain. In some northern cities seawater and sand have invaded city streets and destroyed stone benches and balustrades. Airplanes have had to be detoured from Vigo to Porto in Portugal. Worst of all, a 20-month-old child was ripped from his grandfather's arms when they got too close to the raging sea.
Apparently the weather this week is due to a stratospheric warming. Warmer air at the North Pole is pushing cold air south and causing stronger storms to form at middle latitudes, just where we happen to be. I suppose meteorologists already knew about the cycles that create the different weather patterns, but now it seems they're learning more about our atmosphere every day. Just in time for global warming to change everything again. Meanwhile, we hold on to our hats, throw out our broken umbrellas, get soaked to the skin, avoid the seashore, and get along without eating fish till the sea quiets down. And hope a tree doesn't smash into our car as we drive along a country road.
We had been having a mild, temperate winter till now. Yes, we have had days of rain, but it hasn't really been violent. Until yesterday. Wind gusts of over a hundred kilometers per hour in the entire region. Red alert on the shore with waves of over twelve meters. Persistent, hard rain. In some northern cities seawater and sand have invaded city streets and destroyed stone benches and balustrades. Airplanes have had to be detoured from Vigo to Porto in Portugal. Worst of all, a 20-month-old child was ripped from his grandfather's arms when they got too close to the raging sea.
Apparently the weather this week is due to a stratospheric warming. Warmer air at the North Pole is pushing cold air south and causing stronger storms to form at middle latitudes, just where we happen to be. I suppose meteorologists already knew about the cycles that create the different weather patterns, but now it seems they're learning more about our atmosphere every day. Just in time for global warming to change everything again. Meanwhile, we hold on to our hats, throw out our broken umbrellas, get soaked to the skin, avoid the seashore, and get along without eating fish till the sea quiets down. And hope a tree doesn't smash into our car as we drive along a country road.
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| From Facebook page of O Tempo TVG |
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| From Facebook page of O Tempo TVG |
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| From La Voz de Galicia |
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