The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain

Doogs

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Alright. I'm hoping someone here can help point me in the right direction.

I'm trying to form a climatological picture of Spain for the WIP. I've got a good sense of the landscape, the terrain, agriculture, flora, etc. I've got average temps and rainfall for all various parts of the Iberian peninsula.

But I'm having a hell of a time tracking down a sense of what the weather is like. Which directions do the winds blow at different times of year? Which way do the storms blow in from? When it does rain (which isn't often), is it a persistent drizzle, or a heavy downpour that exhausts itself quickly? Or is it like Austin, where we get both, just depending on the time of year?

Any suggestions most appreciated!
 

lkp

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Ha! I can help with this. I've been in many different parts of Spain, many different times of the year.

To a certain extent, it depends on where you are. In the mountains in the north and northwest, it is green and lush like Ireland, and probably has a similar climate, with a little less rain. Coolish summers, temperate winters.

In the interior, it is dry most of the year. When it rains, it is more like a drizzle. I've never been there at any time when there has been a real cloud-burst thunderstorm. Doesn't mean it never happens, at least in some regions.

There is snow in the mountains. There was snow in the hills around Barcelona when I was there last January and everyone said it was unusual, but still. Most of the weather there in January reminded me of what it is like in Chicago today. Apparently the summers on that coast are stinking humid, which isn't true of the interior, which is a dry heat.

That's just a tiny bit --- it's huge country. Kind of like asking what the weather is like in California. Bernard Reilly's Medieval Spains has in introductory chapter that is great on geography and climate. Thomas Glick's books may also be useful. Basically, like Canada, in Spain geography is destiny (IMHO). I'd be happy to help with more specific questions as you go forward.
 

Puma

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Not much help, but maybe a little - Captain from Castille (Shellabarger) is set partly in Spain (Jaen), partly in the New World. There was one scene, if I remember correctly, in which it was raining or had rained. Shellabarger did extensive research for the novel.

You might also re-watch El Cid to look for weather (and I think there was some).

You might also see if you can find anything on the filming of El Cid and, fudge, the movie that started with Tyrone Power as lead but he died and Yul Brynner took over which was filmed in Spain. There might be some weather notes there.

If I remember correctly, there are winds that blow in from North Africa - and I'm probably going to get this wrong - Scirocco or something like that.

Seems to me the Basque area gets weather - but that would be affected by the North Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean.

As I said - not much help but maybe a couple leads. Puma
 

lkp

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...Also worth remembering is that Spain would not have been as deforested then as it is now (and has been now for centuries).
 

Doogs

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Thanks! If it helps, I'm particularly interested in the eastern coast (roughly Barcelona south to Cartagena) and the Guadalquivir Valley (Jaen, Seville, Cordoba).
 

donroc

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Climate and the landscape will have changed over centuries. Better to find sources contemporary with your novel, if you can, than to use current information. I found sufficient information regarding the weather in 17th century Spain for my novel.
 

Doogs

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Climate and the landscape will have changed over centuries. Better to find sources contemporary with your novel, if you can, than to use current information. I found sufficient information regarding the weather in 17th century Spain for my novel.

Yeah, unfortunately the ancients weren't too up on meteorology, and what insights we have mostly apply to Greece and (if lucky) Italy.
 

donroc

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Yeah, unfortunately the ancients weren't too up on meteorology, and what insights we have mostly apply to Greece and (if lucky) Italy.

Oh, for the days when the Sahara was lush and green. :cry:

There's always the controversial Velikovsky for an explanation of the causes of extreme climate change.
 

mayamolly

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Along these lines...

Does anyone have any insight into the weather in Persia about 500 BCE? Can anyone point me in the right direction to figure out whether the climate then would be similar to the climate now?
 

Doogs

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Okay...I'm still poking around for more localized conditions, but I did stumble across this site, which gives a really thorough account of the winds of the Mediterranean:

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2007/alm07mar.htm

Regarding overall weather conditions, everything I'm finding indicates the general climate in Spain in the 3rd century B.C. is broadly similar to the modern climate. Or...good enough for novel work (after all, it's not like Scipio could pull up the weather app on his iPhone...). Temperatures might have varied a slight bit, but it was still a warm Mediterranean climate and a hotbed for olive production, in particular.

North Africa will be different - and as a result the sirocco winds may not be so harsh in Spain - but with Africa there's a lot more info available on climate, as it was a major source of agriculture for the Roman Empire.