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 Halcyon Days in Athens...ending 
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Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm
Posts: 1113
Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
Post Halcyon Days in Athens...ending
Most years, Greece experiences one or more periods in winter (usually in February) of what we call the 'Halcyon Days', or Alkyonides: a week or two of clear blue skies, still air, and above-average temperatures. We've just had our usual dose, and it was glorious! Warm sunshine, spending days on the balcony or drinking at beach-bars.

Hedychium, Heliconia, Musa, Xanthosoma etc etc are all in active growth.

But, the end is nigh! The temperature was 22C a while ago, but the sky is gradually getting more and more - and strangely - overcast: there's a deep depression heading our way pulling warm air up from Africa, full of Saharan dust. When that warm and dusty air collides with the 'cold sector' of the depression we're going to have some spectacular thunderstorms which will cover Athens (and most of Greece) with lots of muddy rain.

Having experienced the same thing last year, I've stocked up on essentials and don't plan to leave home for at least 24 hours! Getting soaking wet isn't a major problem, but the fine dust in the rain ruins clothes irreparably.

Worse still, the long-range prediction is for an incursion of cold air-masses from the north in about 7 days time. If it's as bad as the current predictions, I'm going to have to move almost all of my plants indoors :cry:

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Dave
Pagrati, Athens, Greece
Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night
January: 13/6


Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:35 pm
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