For those of you who believe Dalmatian weather is all year round sunny and warm, forget it.
Sunny, nice and warm it's "only" from April till October, sometimes a bit earlier and/or later.
Between October and April our weather here is typical for Mediterranean winter season,
but also influenced by continental weather from Bosnia and beyond.
Today's satellite image for instance, shows a giant depression
over Italy and Croatia.
That means rain, wind, more rain and more wind.
Two wind directions are dominant here, one called bura,
the other called jugo.
Bura (boeh-ra) means dry weather (cold in winter or hot in summer), Jugo (you-go) however often brings rain, both in summer and winter.
Having been a (hobby) sailor all my life, checking the weather was as normal as putting up or taking down sails, and fantastic internet today provides me with a stunning amount of details.
This picture for instance shows a satellite image from a website with both daylight and infrared images.
With this, and a couple other links,
I regularly check what the weather is, and/or will be.
In other words, I am our own local weatherman.
Snow or no snow on Biokovo Mountain (free entrance during winter),
a simple click tells me when it's time to get into the car and drive that half hour to hike in alpine conditions.
Faaaantaaaaastic !!!
Living here is great all year round, but especially great in winter.
The variety of micro climates makes it even greater.
Each and every valley has a slightly different climate,
the coast differs from the Zagora (hinterland).
And for instance, while summer nights at the coast are almost as hot as during the day, our evenings are much more pleasant, as here evening temperature drops about five degrees C. compared to the sun baked coastal area.
Example:
Waking up in our hidden valley, enjoying cats, coffee and a cigarette in a mild winter sun (when it's not raining),
driving ten minutes down the mountain to see Adriatic or Cetina, another half hour or so to Biokovo, walking around in winter wonderland, after which an espresso on Makarska's best terrace (Kavana Romana) is enjoyed, and returning home to either
grill or cook a nice dinner.
If you like to see how weather is or will be, send me an email
(see top right side of my blog),
and I most gladly send you a couple of links to check local weather.
Rain, sun or snow, bura or jugo:
Dalmatia is always great.
