Rain welcome in Cape Verde
Rain is a scarce commodity in Cape Verde. On some of the islands it sometimes only rains one or two days in the whole year. This makes it difficult for gardeners and farmers, who need the rain to grow crops. The rainy season is normally August and September. This year there has been very little rain, but even a small amount is better than nothing. Rain is welcomed in Cape Verde. Here is a field of maze growing on Santo Antão, which has benefitted from some rain. So there will be food to harvest, even if it is not on the scale most of us are used to.
Much needed rain comes to Cape Verde
Much needed rain has been falling in Cape Verde. We have reports of heavy rain in Maio. This is the first in the rainy season and will be welcomed by farmers and gardeners alike. The children enjoy playing in the puddles as can be seen in this video:
Some years there can be as little as one day of rain in the year, so to have some heavy rain now is good. Whilst many of us don’t want rain, especially if we live in the northern parts of Europe, for Cape Verdeans it is a welcome event. The rainy season is very short-lived.
Rain storm for Cape Verde?
The weather forecast for Friday (tomorrow) indicates the possibility of the first rain storm in Cape Verde at least for the more easterly islands. This will be the first in this year’s rainy season and will be much needed by the farmers and gardeners. The rainy season is normally August and September and so far there it has been dry. The eastern islands are the driest and some years there is as little as one day of rain, which causes real problems for agriculture. In August the temperature rises with a daytime high of around 29ºC and a low of around 23ºC. Generally, this is however, one of the wettest months, when there could be up to 53mm of rain, but probably spread over about 6 days. There can sometimes be heavy showers, but the sea is still an attraction and beautifully warm, with a temperature of around 27ºC. More information is available about the current weather in Cape Verde click here.
Saharan Sand over Cape Verde
In winter, winds known as the Harmatten blow west over the Sahara Desert. In the process the winds pick up sand and dust from the Sahara and blow it over the Atlantic. This year, at the end of January, NASA’s satellites picked up images of the Saharan sand over the ocean and over the Cape Verde islands.
The mountainous islands, such as Santiago, São Nicolau and Santo Antão block some of the sand. As a result there is less dust on the west side of the archipelago. The sand blows across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The sand fertilises the sea with nutrients, which can promote the growth of plankton, but can also bring about damage to coral reefs, because of micro-organisms it contains.
When it rains (occasionally) in Cape Verde!
The rains have yet to reach Cape Verde; it has been dry for 10 months, but this is how they celebrate when the rain comes:
In August the temperature rises with a daytime high of around 29ºC and a low of around 23ºC. This is however, one of the wettest months, when there can be up to 53mm of rain, but spread over about 6 days. There can sometimes be heavy showers, but the sea is still an attraction and beautifully warm, with a temperature of around 27ºC.
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