And last night I couldn’t sleep! It’s true, and perhaps it is this that Joni wrote about in her song; The Sirocco (or Marin) arrived a few days ago- the first I’ve seen- a wind that comes from Africa and brings with it rain, warm temperatures and fine sand. It was raining quite hard on and off ( and 22 degrees Celsius) and when it stopped and everything dried off, there was a coating of fine brown grit covering all the leaves, cars, streets etc The rain and wind has stopped now, but the balmy temperatures remain. Such an fascinating phenomena! Below is a clip from Wikipedia, and it is interesting to note that health problems can be associated with the Sirocco, since I and several people I know all came down with colds in the last few days.
Otherwise I leave for Canada in 2 days, to spend 7 weeks there liquidating my belongings so that my life on that side of the ocean can be closed and I can return to this paradise, to begin a new life.
And thanks to Wikipedia….
A sirocco from Libya blowing dust over the Mediterranean, Malta, Italy, and Greece
Scirocco and Sirocco are Italian names from which its Greekname, “σιρόκος” (sirokos), is derived, while jugo is its name in Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia, and ghibli in Libya. The sirocco reaching the south of France contains more moisture and is known as the marin. In the Canary Islands this oppressive, hot, dust bearing wind is called La Kalima. The name of sirocco in the southwest of Spain is leveche, or llebeig in Catalan. The leveche usually carries red Sahara dust and is associated with storms and heavy rain, the wind being very strong, lasting about 4 days. In Malta, it is known as xlokk. [1]
Development
It arises from a warm, dry, tropical airmass that is pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea, with the wind originating in the Arabian or Sahara deserts.[2] The hotter, drier continental air mixes with the cooler, wetter air of the maritime cyclone, and the counter-clockwise circulation of the low propels the mixed air across the southern coasts of Europe.
Effects
The Sirocco causes dusty, dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa, storms in the Mediterranean Sea, and cold, wet weather in Europe. The Sirocco’s duration may be a half day or many days. Many people attribute health problems to the Sirocco either because of the heat and dust along the African coastal regions or the cool dampness in Europe. The dust within the Sirocco winds can degrade mechanical devices and invade domiciles.
These winds with speeds of almost 100 kilometres per hour are most common during the autumn and the spring. They reach a peak in March and in November, with a maximum speed of about 100 km/h (55 knots).
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