Sunday, January 14, 2007
Tenerife's First Snow of 2007
Dr. Andy Williams, who also lives on the north of Tenerife, writes in his latest newsletter, "We had a bit of a storm here on Friday night / Saturday morning, which brought the first snow of the winter to the top of Mount Teide (here in Tenerife). We were a bit surprised at the snow, because the temperatures where we live were up to 25C overnight. Then again, the micro-climates of Tenerife (an island you can drive around in a little over 2 hours) constantly amaze me."
He's not alone in his surprise and amazement. After almost 15 years here, the climate still has the capacity to surprise me too. Though the night-time temperature dropped considerably inside this house - it doesn't get sun - I was surprised that when I I'd gone out at around 2 a.m. (dog needed the bathroom), the air outside was noticeably warmer than in. The biggest effects of this storm locally were "grumbling" thunder and some cuts to our power supply. We did have a couple of showers of rain, but it was no great amount, hence, I didn't even think to look for snow.
But look! Someone sprinkled Teide with icing sugar! :)
In fact, there is so little snow and the sun is out and the sky is blue again today that I don't expect it to stick very long, so I grabbed this quick capture from the IAC's webcam. If you go to the link below, you may be able to watch it melt! :)
Canarian Institute of Astrophysics Teide Webcam
UPDATE: I think the snow on Teide has mostly melted now. I grabbed this, this morning, then the power went off again for 4 1/2 hours, before I could post this. Later, I learned that winds had been a lot stronger on other parts of the island, causing some flight diversions at Tenerife North airport and various damages.
