It rains dust here!

One of the reasons we chose to live in Almeria is that it is the driest hottest part of Spain and for an arthristis sufferer like myself, the wamer the weather and the drier the better.



But when it rains here - it doesn't do it in half measurers. It generally rains for a couple of hours, but it is torrential, then a couple of hours later everywhere is dry again because of the heat. We have spring rains and we have autumn rains which are needed to keep the water reserves topped up.



So, yesterday saw us with a grey sky all day, the winds got increasingly stronger and the clouds were building until late evening and everyone was anticipating rain. And it started about 11pm for a couple of hours, we had power cuts, pounding rain on the rooftops and I felt sorry for anyone on a night out having to walk home (Terreros doesn't do taxi's out of season). We were fortunate in our timing that we had been out to friends in the evening and had returned home having walked the dogs at 10.45pm- so even the dogs didn't need to go out. According to neighbours the main storm was south over Africa, but we got caught in the edge of it.



Nothing strange in all of this until I got up this morning and went outside.



Everything smelled fresh this morning, the normal stuffiness had gone (but not for long, it's already back), the sky was clear blue and the sun was once again rising over the mountains but it was like something out of a sci-fi film, everywhere was still, covered with a thick layer of brown dust. The glass table, the chairs, the patio, the pool - all now a single shade of brown. It's as if the Sahara desert has been dumped on Terreros. Absolutely everything outside is coated and if there were any doors or windows open, it was inside the house as well.



As I walked the dogs this morning I passed several houses where people were alreay starting the clean-up process - and there is only one way to do it - a hosepipe and a large yard brush. I understand it may take upto 3 days for the pool to be clear again and that there is a chance it will all happen again either today or tomorrow. At least when you've hosed everywhere down it dries within half an hour, and it is only dust and nothing worse. Talking to some of the ladies at my Spanish class this morning this is a normal event here, but it's happened a little earlier than usual.



I wish someone had warned us before we bought a black car!