ABC of Weather: Zephyr


A zephyr is just the kind of wind we'd like to have in the garden: a gentle, refreshing breeze. The word comes from the Greek and particularly refers to light winds from the west. Here, our prevailing wind comes from the south-west, but is usually anything but light as it brings in storms from the Atlantic.

Sadly we're at the end of my Weather ABC and I haven't had the chance to tell you all kinds of things particularly in the wind related sphere, such as the Beaufort Scale, why wind speed is measured in knots rather than miles per hour, and how the UK has the highest concentration of tornadoes in the world (when land area is taken into account but they're not anywhere near as destructive as those found in e.g. the USA). And seeing we're at Z, there's also the news that the Zone system (and its RHS equivalent) are currently under review - Transatlantic Plantsman is keeping a weather eye open for when the revised systems are announced.

I do hope you've enjoyed this themed ABC Wednesday. It's been a lot of fun to put together, so much so I'm contemplating another theme for the next round. Watch this space...

And where does the picture fit into this Z? It's Zephyranthes candida: a new plant to me and one which I probably wouldn't be aware of unless I'd embarked on this particular round of posts. As you can see its name is rooted in our lovely gentle breeze. It's fragrant and can be grown in Zones 7-10.

How's the weather with you today?

The picture is courtesy of Stan Shebs via Wiki Media

Comments

  1. petoskystone14 July 2010 at 14:05

    a nice steady rain for the past few hours. yesterday afternoon a thunderstorm passed us on the north side, so we got a few faint rumblings of thunder & rain. nice to see the rain, be even nicer if the rain took the humdidity with it when it leaves ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diana Studer14 July 2010 at 14:58

    Ah you're not at Z already?! I was enjoying this. Perhaps you could pull it together on a page?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mr. McGregor's Daughter14 July 2010 at 18:36

    I can't read the word "zephyr" without thinking of P. G. Wodehouse. (Jeeves entered like "a healing zephyr." The rain lilies are lovely. I'm thinking of trying them in a small container I can stuff in the garage over the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. wej19 July 2010 at 05:46

    pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  5. VP24 July 2010 at 10:20

    Petoskystone - rain here too whilst I've been away - much needed

    EE - that's a good idea, will see if I have a page left out of the ones I've got planned

    MMD - ooh let me know how you get on with them please

    Wej - welcome and thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sudeep24 July 2010 at 20:41

    Awesome...Thanks for sharing..

    http://sudee4u.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. VP26 July 2010 at 17:49

    Sudeep - welcome and glad you like it

    ReplyDelete
  8. LENA29 July 2010 at 13:55

    Thank you for sharing. Wonderful post. I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. VP2 October 2010 at 08:18

    Lena - hello and you're welcome

    ReplyDelete

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I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

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