La Gota Fria - The Cold Drop

photo credit www.FreeFoto.com

La Gota Fria - The Cold Drop, This is the name given to the heavy rains we experience in the Costa Blanca at this time of the year, a bright sunny day transforms into black skies and a deluge of rain in a very short time. La Gota Fria is created by the warm sea of the Meditteranean and the cooler air coming from Northern Europe, the sea warms the air which rises higher and higher to form cumulus clouds, warm updrafts carry the water droplets even higher forming thunder clouds, these clouds can often reach 20000 feet, When the droplets become too heavy they fall as heavy rain and hailstones, often causing severe damage to crops and property.

The spanish met office is warning of an extreme Gota fria this year, as the Meditteranean is 6 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year. As I am writing this it is spitting with rain, so maybe the Gota Fria has started.