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WEATHER

May 40th: Why an old Spanish weather saying rings true this week

There’s a well-known expression in Spain that you might hear being used these days as Spain prepares for some stormy weather.

Published: 11 June 2019 16:42 CEST
Updated: 10 June 2021 14:57 CEST
May 40th: Why an old Spanish weather saying rings true this week
Photo: wollwerth/Depositphotos

Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo.

If translated literally into English, this Spanish saying means “until May 40th, don’t take off your tunic”.

May 40th doesn’t correspond to an actual date in the Spanish calendar and it’s not as if many Spaniards wear tunics anymore either..

The expression – which first appeared in a poem by Rodriguez Marón dating from 1896 – is used when the weather during the first ten days of June takes a turn for the worse, even though the summer heat has technically already started.

In other words – don’t be so quick to pack away your winter and spring clothes until you are sure summer is well and truly here.

And this week this expression rings true once again.

Spain has seen the mercury rise above 30C in large parts of the mainland and even hit 40C in some places in the southern Andalusia region, but starting on Thursday June 10th heavy storms, strong winds and some hail are expected in the Valencia region, Catalonia and other parts of northeastern Spain. 

By Friday, the stormy weather is forecast to affect all the northern half of the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands, even though temperatures will remain above 30C across much of the Spanish territory. As the images above shared by Spain’s national weather agency AEMET show, the rain will continue in many parts of Spain throughout the weekend and on Monday. 

So even though in 19th century Spain a sayo or tunic may have been the best way to stay dry, we suggest that you keep your raincoat handy because you may well need it in the next few days.

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WEATHER

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Summer is finally here! Or least it is if you live in southern Norway, where a warm front coming up from Europe will bring t-shirt temperatures of 20C by Thursday, according to forecasts.

Published: 30 April 2024 08:42 CEST
Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Warm air from southern Europe will combine with a high pressure zone which will bring clear skies and sunshine, with summery weather coming towards the end of the week, Norway’s national weather forecaster Yr has reported. 

“Thursday and Friday especially will be nice,” Ingrid Villa, a meteorologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, told the public broadcaster NRK. “Then we will probably get temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius in some places.” 

Patches of 20C warmth are expected both in western Norway around Bergen and in Western Norway around Oslo, with the area around Tromsø expected to have slightly cooler weather, although Villa said that “it will absolutely be something like summer there too”. 

The warm sunny weather is, however, expected to pass northern Norway by, with grey overcast skies expected for much of this week. 

But if you think summer has come to Norway to stay, you risk disappointment as much cooler temperatures are expected next week.  

“There’s nothing unusual in getting an early taste of summer in April and the start of May, and then we can quickly go back to cooler more spring-like weather,” Villa said. 

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