May 40th: Why an old Spanish weather saying rings true this week
There’s a well-known expression in Spain that you might hear being used these days as Spain prepares for some stormy weather.
Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo.
If translated literally into English, this Spanish saying means “until May 40th, don’t take off your tunic”.
May 40th doesn’t correspond to an actual date in the Spanish calendar and it's not as if many Spaniards wear tunics anymore either..
The expression – which first appeared in a poem by Rodriguez Marón dating from 1896 - is used when the weather during the first ten days of June takes a turn for the worse, even though the summer heat has technically already started.
In other words - don’t be so quick to pack away your winter and spring clothes until you are sure summer is well and truly here.
And this week this expression rings true once again.
Spain has seen the mercury rise above 30C in large parts of the mainland and even hit 40C in some places in the southern Andalusia region, but starting on Thursday June 10th heavy storms, strong winds and some hail are expected in the Valencia region, Catalonia and other parts of northeastern Spain.
#PredicciónAEMET. Probabilidad de que se acumulen más de 1/5/10/20 mm en 24 h para los próximos días. Muchas zonas de la Península verán el desarrollo de #tormentasdeverano y chubascos.
Info actualizada y detallada👉https://t.co/9PLsmvqyfS pic.twitter.com/fZwvAU5O3v
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) June 10, 2021
By Friday, the stormy weather is forecast to affect all the northern half of the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands, even though temperatures will remain above 30C across much of the Spanish territory. As the images above shared by Spain's national weather agency AEMET show, the rain will continue in many parts of Spain throughout the weekend and on Monday.
So even though in 19th century Spain a sayo or tunic may have been the best way to stay dry, we suggest that you keep your raincoat handy because you may well need it in the next few days.
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Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo.
If translated literally into English, this Spanish saying means “until May 40th, don’t take off your tunic”.
May 40th doesn’t correspond to an actual date in the Spanish calendar and it's not as if many Spaniards wear tunics anymore either..
The expression – which first appeared in a poem by Rodriguez Marón dating from 1896 - is used when the weather during the first ten days of June takes a turn for the worse, even though the summer heat has technically already started.
In other words - don’t be so quick to pack away your winter and spring clothes until you are sure summer is well and truly here.
And this week this expression rings true once again.
Spain has seen the mercury rise above 30C in large parts of the mainland and even hit 40C in some places in the southern Andalusia region, but starting on Thursday June 10th heavy storms, strong winds and some hail are expected in the Valencia region, Catalonia and other parts of northeastern Spain.
#PredicciónAEMET. Probabilidad de que se acumulen más de 1/5/10/20 mm en 24 h para los próximos días. Muchas zonas de la Península verán el desarrollo de #tormentasdeverano y chubascos.
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) June 10, 2021
Info actualizada y detallada👉https://t.co/9PLsmvqyfS pic.twitter.com/fZwvAU5O3v
By Friday, the stormy weather is forecast to affect all the northern half of the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands, even though temperatures will remain above 30C across much of the Spanish territory. As the images above shared by Spain's national weather agency AEMET show, the rain will continue in many parts of Spain throughout the weekend and on Monday.
So even though in 19th century Spain a sayo or tunic may have been the best way to stay dry, we suggest that you keep your raincoat handy because you may well need it in the next few days.
READ ALSO:
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