What’s the weather like? It is probably one of the most commonly asked questions. I am writing about weather in my hometown because weather is Sandy’s last prompt for Friendly Friday challenge.
Let me tell you about weather in my hometown. Rijeka is a port town. It is a town with rich and complicated history and a town that boasts interesting traditions such as an annual International Carnival parade. RIJEKA is also known in the rest of Croatia for its changeable weather. I could even say that my hometown is referred to as the rainy city because it rains a lot here. As a matter of fact it rains here more than in London. Surprise, surprise! The average rainfall in London is 690 mm while Rijeka gets 1704 mm. However, it doesn’t rain more often in Rijeka than in London but when it rains it rains more ( in quantity).
Despite wet autumn we enjoy long, hot and mostly dry summers. In recent years temperatures rise to + 30° C more often than ever. As a consequence draught is also more present as are wildfires in summer. Climate change means that Croatia as the rest of the world is experiencing more severe weather. Unfortunately, Croatia was hit by two devastating earthquakes in last two years ( earthquake in Zagreb and earthquake in Petrinja).
There are two main winds in my region called Jugo and Bura. Jugo blows from the southeast and it often brings rain. When it rains and jugo blows it can raise sea level and cause floods in the area around the port and the main open air market in my hometown. Jugo is also a culprit for bad mood and grumpiness, headache and various other ailments.
Another specialty of my hometown is a strong wind called Bura. Bura is a dry, cold wind blowing from the northeast. It occurs mostly during winter. Sometimes the wind is so strong that it stops traffic. The bridges and roads get closed, ships can’t sail out and trees are ripped from the ground. No matter how many layers of clothes you have on, if bura blows, you freeze. But bura also brings beautiful bright, sunny days when the sky is crystal clear. In 2013 at Krk bridge near Rijeka bura blew at 221 km/h. The strongest gust of bura recorded in the city center was 97 km/h.
La Bora nasce a Segna , si sposa a Fiume e muore a Trieste.
old italian proverb
/The translation of the proverb: Bura is born in Senj, she gets married in Rijeka and dies in Trieste. Fiume is an Italian name for my hometown Rijeka. Senj is a town 60 km south of Rijeka and Trieste is an Italian port city only 75 km away from Rijeka. /
Bura is said to be a healthy wind because it clears up the air. It is also responsible for the great taste of pršut (prosciutto) because it is left to dry outside when bura blows. I like it when bura blows because it clears my head and helps me to be in the good mood.
It rarely snows here but sometimes the wind brings snowflakes and sometimes it snows in higher parts of the town and the snow stays on the ground for a couple of hours only. The photo below is from February 2013 when we got at least 20 cm of snow which stayed on the ground for a couple of days. But there are snowy mountains only half an hour from my hometown and a small ski resort Platak.
We have many sunny days but if you come to Rijeka don’t forget your umbrella 😉. Just in case!