[Sky]
Around the western Mediterranean, from northeastern Spain to southern France and parts of Italy, people know a cold, dry north wind called the Tramontana. It can clear the sky in hours, make temperatures feel much lower, and whip up rough seas. Where Does the Tramontana Blow? The Tramontana affects several regions, including:
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[Sky]
The first big celestial event of the year arrives quickly: the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks during the night of 3–4 January. This shower is famous for producing brief outbursts of more than 100 fast, blue meteors per hour, but only for a few hours when Earth slices through the densest part of the debris stream.
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[Sky]
If you still crave meteors after the Geminids, keep your gear handy for the Ursids. This faithful shower peaks on the night of 22 December, just after the solstice, delivering roughly 10 meteors per hour with occasional outbursts when Earth crosses dense filaments shed by Comet 8P/Tuttle. The radiant sits near the Little Dipper’s bowl in Ursa Minor, so it never sets for most Northern Hemisphere observers.
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[Sky]
Clear a spot on your calendar for the Geminid meteor shower, widely regarded as the most reliable display of the year. Activity stretches from 4 to 17 December, and the peak is predicted for the night of 13–14 December with zenithal hourly rates near 120 meteors per hour under dark skies.
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[Sky]
The Leonid Meteor Shower is an annual celestial event awaited by stargazers. The Leonid Meteor Shower is named after the constellation Leo, from where the meteors appear to emanate. It occurs when Earth crosses the debris trail left by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. This event is known for its bright meteors and persistent trails left in the sky, providing a spectacular view for observers.
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[Sky]
Europe: History & System: The practice of naming storms in Europe is relatively recent compared to the USA. It began in the 1950s for the North Atlantic storms and was more widely adopted in the 21st century. Various national meteorological agencies across Europe are responsible for naming storms. For instance, the UK’s Met Office, Ireland’s Met Éireann, and the Netherlands' Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute collaborate to name storms that impact their regions.
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[Sky]
Do you know where the “World Lightning Capital” is? To visit it, you will have to go to Venezuela, to the municipality of Catatumbo. It was this area that got the title of the “World Lightning Capital” after the Guinness Book of Records recorded the world’s highest concentration of lightning in this region.
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[Sky]
Get ready for a meteor spectacle! The first spring star rain is on its way, and you won’t want to miss it. On April 21 to 22, we will have a chance to observe the largest meteor shower in the Northern Hemisphere — the Lyrid shower, whose maximum will fall on this night.
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[ Sky]
Drizzle is a type of light rainfall characterised by very fine water droplets falling from the sky. It typically occurs when the temperature is above freezing, around 5 to 10 degrees Celsius (41 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit), can also happen at slightly colder or significantly higher temperatures. Light drizzle is common in regions with mild or cool climates, especially during transitional seasons like spring and autumn.
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[Sky]
Sometimes we can see a brightly shining circle around the Sun, the Moon, or even an artificial light source (for example, a lantern). This natural phenomenon is called “halo”. It appears because of the refraction of light in ice crystals in the upper atmosphere at an altitude of 5-10 km.
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