Reflection 1

   For my first reflection, I chose a city that I know very well to compare against my study city, Chicago, IL. I was born and raised in the Chicago, IL area, and know its sometimes difficult weather all too well. The differences between Barcelona and Chicago are very great. It would seem like the two cities may have similar weather as a result of their location to water bodies, but the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Barcelona and the relative closeness of the Atlantic Ocean make for very different weather patterns between the two cities.

   To begin with, comparing the effect of water on limiting the temperature variations during the Summer and Winter months, both cities experience an effect. It goes without saying that the effect of the Mediterranean Sea on Barcelona is much more noticeable than Lake Michigan's impact on Chicago. However, it has been documented that Chicago experiences some mitigation of temperature variances in the neighborhoods closest to the water. Barcelona on the whole experiences temperature variation mitigation at a large scale. The average temperatures of these cities prove this point.


  During summer months, Chicago experiences hot, humid days, which is comparable to Barcelona. In August, Chicago averages at about 84 degrees, while Barcelona lies around 85 degrees.

  In January, Barcelona's daytime temperature average lies between 46 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and 36 to 50 degrees during the night.
  Chicago's January average is 23.5 degrees Fahrenheit - a sharp variation from Barcelona's much warmer temperatures. On top of this, Chicago can experience extreme cold spells that last for several days, which is unheard of in Barcelona.


   The topography of Chicago and Barcelona are very different, as well, in that Chicago exists in a very flat area in the middle of a large continent. Barcelona exists in an area between the sea on its Eastern side, and a mountain range on its Western side. Air parcels coming over the mountains will warm adiabatically if moving from West to East over the mountains and out to sea. This kind of event does not occur in Chicago due to the lack of mountain ranges.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=15&year=2011&month=11&ID=IBARCELO60&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=15&year=2011&month=11&ID=KILCHICA92&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

   As the charts above show, there are some similarities between the cities, but things like temperatures and rainfall throughout the year make for very different living conditions.

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/ziggysofi/ziggysofi0910/ziggysofi091000067/5757944-panoramic-view-of-chicago-city-buildings--by-the-lake.jpg
View of Chicago's waterfront

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg/800px-Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg
View of Barcelona's waterfront

Blog Post 2

Weather station name: IBARCELO60

Spain is affected by more than one air mass.The air masses that affect spain are the Continental Tropical (cT), Maritime Tropical (mT), and even Maritime Arctic (mA). Barcelona sits on the Eastern coast of Spain, meaning it is affected greatly by the Mediterranean sea, which moderates temperatures. During the winter months, this air mass can cause unpredictable changes in weather, quickly changing from sunny weather to rain. Barcelona lies in the Levante region, which is characterized by sudden, strong rainstorms during the autumn months as a result of the Mediterranean air mass.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Map_Spain_Levante.png
The Levante region of Spain

http://www.icelandair.destination-guides.net/photos/Barcelona2.jpg
Barcelona beaches

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1256549/Snow-hits-Barcelona-bringing-Catalonia-standstill.html

While snow is rare in Barcelona, it has occurred to the delight, and dismay, of local Spaniards.

As for the near future, Barcelona has this to look forward to:

http://www.meteorologica.info/Euroisobars.htm
This actively refreshing image from Meteorologica shows the locations of cold, warm, and occluded fronts over Europe. At the time of this publishing, a cold front is pushing across the Iberian Peninsula, bringing clouds and rain to Barcelona.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Barcelona+Spain+SPXX0015
10 day forecast for the beginning of November. As can be observed, the autumn months  have an abundance of rain showers that can quickly appear, rain, and disappear unpredictably.

http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/ferrang/1/video.html?month=10&year=2011&filename=20111031.flv
This image from a weather camera located in the hills outside of Barcelona shows some of the clouds moving over the area as a result of the cold front move across the Iberian Peninsula.

http://www.weather.com/maps/geography/europe/index_large.html
A front is moving through Spain and is bringing rain across most of the Iberian Peninsula. Barcelona, on the East coast of the country, is going to experience this front within the next few hours.

Getting Acclimatized

Weather station name: IBARCELO60

This station sits in the city of Barcelona, just a few blocks south of Camp Nou where FC Barcelona plays.
Barcelona's average temperature sits just below 65 degrees. During the summer months it can get into the 90s and in winter months down to the 50s. Not much precipitation falls in Barcelona, meaning even in the colder months, the sun still shines on a regular basis.

I spent some time in Barcelona during the early part of August. I found the weather to be warm and sometimes humid. Unlike more inland parts of the country, Barcelona maintained a steady warm temperature, never becoming too warm. Cities like Sevilla, which are located inland and are not near large bodies of water, become very hot during the summer.

I also noticed the weather in Barcelona seemed very similar to San Diego, CA.

http://www.thepropertyfinders.com/images/locations/barcelona_map.jpg

Barcelona is located in the Northeast part of the country, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?
day=17&year=2011&month=10&ID=IBARCELO60&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

As can be seen from the weather so far this year, Barcelona has experienced its highest temperatures in the month of August, topping out close to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Shortly into September, temperatures were seen dropping off and becoming cooler. Looking at the rain graph, mostly sunny days with a few periods of downfall up to almost 3 inches during the peak rainfall periods can be observed.