Ladies wot lunch! Wot a lunch!

Click to enlarge
(Second thoughts: maybe not)

JIMENA This picture was received this evening with the following text: "Some local ladies enjoying a typical Spanish lunch!!!! As it was Ash Wednesday, there was no alcohol involved  -  honest!!!!" (Val of La Viña de Liñán is on the right. Thanks, Val!) Now then, if you really want to do this village of ours a good turn, send everyone on your list the link to this item (http://jimenapulse.blogspot.com/2012/02/ladies-wot-lunch-wot-lunch.html , copy & paste it onto the e-mail) as proof that it is Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2010, and look at them, for gawd's sake! 

Mini twister near Jimena

 Thanks for this one, Phil (a.k.a. CraftyPip)!

It rained today - boy, did it rain!

We were inside (see previous items), under cover, relatively dry. Calle Romo became Rio Romo in a flash, manhole covers lifted, cats and dogs ran howling from the thunder and lightning - and the guy on a surfboard flashed by too fast for us to photo.

Yellow alert for rain and high winds

The whole of the province of Cádiz, and most of the Western side of Andalucía is on a yellow weather for high winds and rain for tomorrow, Wednesday through to Thursday, according to the national meteorological service AEMET.

Are the roads the cause of accidents in the rain?

(Photo: TJD/Fede)

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Every year, the first Autumn rains are the reason behind a series of accidents on the A-405 (and just about any other road). This year is no exception. There were at least two yesterday, one of which had a 56 year old woman teken to hospital, fortunately not very seriously injured. Her car turned over and she was trapped, having to be cut out of it. But only an hour later, another car turned over a few kilometers along the same road. Since it began raining on Friday we have heard of at least three more accidents; there were probably several more. In the past we have said that the oil and grease accumulated in the pores of the road surface rise to the top, pushed up by water - and no doubt this is part of the reason. The other is speed. Changes in weather in this part of the world happen almost instantaneously but it appears drivers don't adapt fast enough. And then there are those who got their licence in the summer, buy a powerful car but have no experience - though we hear of one expat with plenty of it, but wrote off his car over the weekend...

Rain in Spain marks beginning of Autumn

SPAIN The rain in Spain is pretty much everywhere today. Marking the real beginning of Autumn and a Winter close behind, the large front travelling from West to East has almost the entire country in an alert of one colour or another. No need to take it personally, then, because Cantabria, Navarra, Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Asturias is on an orange alert for heavy wind, while almost the entire remainder of the country (Madrid, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, Sevilla, Huesca, Zaragoza and Cantabria) is on yellow for both rain and wind. As we have said before, it is notoriously difficult to get an accurate forecast for the Campo de Gibraltar because the 'spine' of mountain ranges cuts through the area, ending on the Rock (though in fact continuing through to Africa and the mountains across the straits). For a fairly accurate daily forecast you can check our WeatherWidget on the sidebar:

Saturday storm alert for Campo de Gibraltar and much of the SE coast

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The national meteorogical service, AEMET, issued a storm warning for the areas marked on the map FOR TOMORROW, SATURDAY, 22. The warning includes an important section of the South Eastern coast as well as the far Western sector, on the coast of Huelva, and probably some of Southern Portugal. Heavy rain and electrical storms can be expected in these areas, so it is advisable to take protective measures with homes and animals. The Civil Protection agency, Protección Civil, has also set out a series of things to do in case of a storm, which is being translated right now by TranslationHELP. Watch this space.

New WeatherWidget on sidebar

Having received complaints that our previous WeatherWidget was not working properly, we've decided to change it, although it's from the same source. You will find it on the right sidebar. At the bottom of it, in tiny writing, it says '+info' - click on that for a seven-day forecast and a lot more weather stuff. Enjoy!

Weather alert for province today

AEMET today

PROVINCE The state weather service, AEMET, has issued a warning for today  in the provinces of Huelva, Cádiz, Sevilla and Córdoba, where heavy rain is expected to accumulate 40 ml in 12 hours. The yellow alert started at 06.00 this morning and lasts until 21.00. The flatlands of these provinces, and the Strait of Gibraltar area, should be especially vigilant, says AEMET. Although the warning is expected to be lifted this evening, heavy rain is expected in the area until, and maybe including, Saturday.

We're in for a long hot summer and several heat waves

SPAIN Yesterday was the first day of Summer, and it was an opportunity for the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) to offer a forecast of what to expect this year. It says that it will be hotter than usual, than other summers. And we can expect four or five heat waves in Southern Spain; that is, with temperatures above 30ºC. In other parts of the country, particularly in the North, more humidity and rainfall than normal. You can check your local weather, with forecasts for up to 14 days, on our WeatherWidget in the sidebar. What's it going to do this week?

How rusty can you expect to get?

We'd been hearing about it for several days now: the weather is going rotten this weekend. Well, according to our fairly accurate forcast facility on the sidebar, the rumours are more than right. Prompted by the item about the Sports Day (below) we checked, having been too busy otherwise, and what we saw is enough to start rubbing anti-rust stuff all over ourselves... Mind you, this happens every year: a week or ten days of storms in April/May,  and then the heat sets in, suddenly and with a vengeance. This, naturally, is why we live here, isn't it? Then again, this is the time to do all those things you haven't done in the winter and left for the summer, but which won't get done in the summer because the weather's too nice or too hot or too something. (What's it look like for Thursday, May 5th?)

Campo on yellow storm alert for rain and wind

The Campo de Gibraltar is on a yellow alert for rain and wind. The wind is expected to reach well over the 30 kph speed for this minimum alert. We don't need to be told that it's raining, though, do we? This site has had a couple of calls from people nearer the coastline (we're comfortably up the mountain in Jimena), to say that several streets are flooded in La Linea and Algeciras. Then again, it's to be expected at his time of year... Check our WeatherWidget on the sidebar for info on what to expect the rest of the week (it's not great news, alas, but we're spoiled after the weather this last week, are we not?)

It was dark and stormy night....

"...everyone likes lightning ...pictures that is," says Phil Heinzl, who grabbed this one of last night's storm (Thank you, Phil!). According to our (and other) weather widgets, it will probably be dark and stormy tonight as well. But here's a curious thing: the weather widget on CampoPulse, the same source as ours here, says that Christmas Day in Algeciras will be cold but sunny. (Note: Can anybody tell us where we got our headline from? It's not original...)

Weather for holidays

 The weather does not look particularly promising for this wekend or the rest of next week including Christmas Eve and Day. According to our Weather Widget on the sidebar (from which we took the image that you can click to enlarge), all sorts of rain and storms can be expected. Okay, we're still better off than they are North of (approx.) Gaucin, not to mention Britain, Germany, etc. And anyway, it's the perfect excuse to come out and visit all those (indoor) places we keep meaning to see. Who? Our advertisers, of course, as well as hotels, restaurants, shops and so on. (Prospero note: we provide the information, not the weather...)

Rain does not stop play...

...if by play you mean going out into the countryside collecting mushrooms as part of this year's thirteenth edition of the Jornadas Micológicas (a title we have difficulty with: variously translated as Mycology Workshops, Mushroom Days, or a new one we were given last night, Mushroom Fair). Anyway, according to a town hall press release, 28 groups of hunters wet out early this morning in as many vehicles, despite the rain. Each group had with them a person who knows the area well, although some routes had to be changed at the last minute because of heavy fog at some of the highest destinations. Before departing, Mayor Pascual Collado (an enthusiastic walker and collector himself) offered words of advice about the weather conditions, which could prove dangerous to those who do not know the local countryside. Shortly after the adults set out, the children, with their own plans, headed out to the Pozos de Majarambú, near Castellar, where the terrain is a lot kinder. As we write, the vehicles are just beginning to return. This afternoon and evening's programme is as follows:>

It's getting a lot colder

If you check our Weather Widget on the sidebar, you will see that we are due for a hefty drop in temperature, as well as rain, from about next weekend. Temperatures are expected to drop throughout the country, although this far South we probably won't have to wrap our pets up like this, but it's probably a good idea to get out those heavy jerseys and coats we haven't seen since last winter...

Campo de Gibraltar under yellow weather warning

AEMET, the weather agency, has issued a wind warning for most of the country for today and tomorrow. The Campo de Gibraltar is under an orange alert ( Important Risk) out at sea but a yellow one ( Risk) inland. As we write, there doesn't seem to be anything much going outside weatherwise, but we may as well be aware... It's all over by Wednesday. You can always check our WeatherWidget on the sidebar for a mid-range forecast. (Prospero note: anyone sending in a comment about beans will be immediately ostracized.)

Autumn to be 'drier with higher temperatures in the South'

Autumn begins officially on Thursday, for which rain and lower temperatures are forecast for most of Spain. However, according to Fermín Elizaga, head of forecasts at the national weather agency AEMET at the Summer Weather Summary presentation in Madrid yesterday, temperatures in October, November and December should be slightly higher than normal in the Southern half of the country and in the Canary Islands. No significant changes are to be expected in the Northern half or the Balearics. As far as rainfall is concerned, these values are expected to be slightly below normal everywhere, with the exception of inland regions and the Southwest of the peninsula, where that tendency will be more acute. Forecasts for the winter include warmer temperatures than normal. Regarding the summer heat, Elizaga said (Read the full story on CampoPulse - oh, aren't we annoying! Remember, JimenaPulse is due to be merged with CampoPulse)

ORANGE WEATHER WARNING for Cádiz, Sevilla and Málaga, from midnight tonight

PROVINCE  The Spanish weather agency AEMET, has issued an orange weather warning for the provinces of Cádiz, Sevilla and Málaga, and parts of Catalonia and Valencia, that begins in the South at midnight tonight and ends at 15.00 tomorrow. Heavy rain storms reaching up to 30 litres per m2 per hour are expected with a probability of between 40 and 70%, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Much of the rest of the country is under a yellow alert, as you can see in the image.

Still on alert

Most of the country continues to be on a weather alert of more or less intensity. Southern Spain is between two fronts that are expected to pass over quickly. Last night's storms brought floods to Madrid and extremely rare hail to Cáceres, in Extremadura. The Campo de Gibraltar also had heavy rainfall at about 4am this morning. (If you have a story, please send it in.) You can check our Weather widget over on the sidebar for more information and a prettty acurate forecast even for an area that is notoriously difficult to predict. (This item also appears on CampoPulse, among many others you may have missd recently.)