For the past eight days, we – or just I at times – have been out and about around Mallorca. Some of these excursions have been in connection with my writing; other outings have been for social reasons. It’s been a busy time, and we’ve had some fine weather to do it all by. But a yellow alert for thunderstorms has been hanging over us like the sword of Damocles for a few days.
Today, during a much-wanted day in at our home in the Mallorcan countryside, the storm has arrived – with thunder, lightning, gusty winds, heavy rain, and even hail. The hailstones are the largest we have seen at our finca since we moved here.
When we have a storm, we’re always on lightning watch – so that we can shut down our solar power system if the storm gets too close. It’s inconvenient to be without power (and therefore Internet and phone too), but not as inconvenient as suffering damage to the system.
Spain has had its hottest May for 50 years and, so far, June has been warmer and drier than usual. A neighbouring farmer has lost his field of broad beans, due to lack of water. Although not as devastating as the loss of a food crop and the potential income, many of the plants in our garden are suffering and already have that when-will-August-be-over look about them.
The land needs the water and anyone with crops or a garden will surely be glad to see some rain. As we say in England, ‘it’s lovely weather for ducks’. Not, however for the poor holidaymakers here at the moment . . .
A gathering storm – in every direction.
Time to batten down the hatches.
And soon these fell out of the sky. Noisy on the roof – painful on the head!
And…who knows why, climate change? We have had the wettest May on record here in Colorado. It rained every day for more than a month and if if didn’t rain a lot, it was cloudy, cloudy, cloudy. Coloradans are not used to cloudy weather! The rainy days are still hanging on a bit but finally there are some sunny days. I am grateful, though, because it helps a great deal with fire danger. I love weather anyway and what else could we talk about if not the weather?
I am thinking that in Mallorca you depend on your wells for your water or you have to have it hauled in to you? We have a well since we are way out in the country and there is a perfect river running high from snowmelt that runs alongside our property so we are really lucky. I still do try to conserve water, though, thinking of other places where they are suffering for lack of it.
Sorry to hear about your weather, Caterina, and hope it does improve for the summer.
We do have an old well here, but it is halfway down the slope of the valley and is in a very poor state of repair, and would probably be quite expensive to restore. We have our water delivered by tanker in 12,000 litre deliveries. Like you, we have become very careful with our water usage since we left the UK.
Well, please don’t send “your weather” in the direction of the UK…
Actually, from the ‘evidence’ you have provided here, we think this is a “Sign…” for… “it’s five o’clock somewhere, here’s the ice…and where’s my G&T…?!”
Hi Kristina and Duncan! Pleased to say that normal weather service here has been resumed. Funnily enough, our friend Jenni in Porreres didn’t have a storm of any sort . . .
We could have served the whole island with G&Ts with the hail that eventually bounced off our roof (and heads, briefly)! x