Autumn was colder and drier than usual

by Irene Taylor
IT has been one of the coldest and driest autumns in Majorca, according to José Antonio Guijarro of the Balearic Weather Centre.
He confirmed that it had been much drier than usual, and while temperatures fell within the normal range for autumn, they were on the low side, particularly in early December. When it comes to rain, Minorca is suffering from a moderate drought, showing a deficit of 19 per cent on an interannual basis.
Majorca has a 17 per cent deficit, but in Ibiza, rainfall was actually 18 per cent higher.
Guijarro said that most of the deficit was due to the lack of rain since October, apart from a few exceptions.
In Palma, for example, rainfail was only a third of what is considered normal for that month.
At Son Sant Joan airport it was less than half and at Lluc and Porreras, little more than half.
But in Pollensa, which is prone to flooding, it rained more than usual in October, and in Capdepera, rainfall was actually more than double.
As to November, Palma, Lluc and Porreres once again had less rain than the average for that month, although the difference was not as great as in October. Lower rainfall than usual was also the order of the day for the first 21 days of December. Palma, for example, only had nine litres per square metre, when the average was 34 litres. There was less of a difference in Porreres, where there was 35 litres of rain compared to the average for the first three weeks of 39 litres. In Lluc, however, 74 litres per square metre was well below the average of 119. As to temperatures, the last days of September were similar to the average in previous years. In October, they were one degree higher than usual.
At the beginning of November, the average temperatures were very slightly higher than average, but then they began to drop, plunging in the early part of December. At that point, they were then between one and 1.5 degrees lower than average, depending on the area. Guijarro said that the rise in one month and drop in another had balanced out the autumn temperatures, but the temperatures of 1-1.5 degrees below average in December are making themselves felt.