‘Onion days’: Spain has a perfect way to describe this typical autumn weather

IN Spain, discussing the weather is as much a national pastime as it is in northern European climes, although across most of central and southern Spain during the summer months there isn’t much more to say than “¡Que calor!”.

But as Spain moves into autumn and the weather becomes more unpredictable, ways of describing the daily changes becomes more interesting,

The perfect example of this is the current weather phenomenon we are experiencing which involves a chilly start to mornings turning into a scorcher of a day, only for temperatures to plummet once again as the sun goes down.

Days like these are known as Dias de la Cebolla – “onion days” –  because of the layers of clothing that must be removed during the day.

Ruben del Campo, spokesman from Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet used the term in a recent tweet.

“The onion days are back,” he said, describing “ a cool climate in the early morning followed by a warm afternoon – marked by a more than 20ºC difference in some areas.”

He explained the term: “These are days when you have to leave the house wearing several layers (like an onion) that you will take off layer by layer.”