17. WEATHER AND CLIMATE

17. Weather and seasons in the Czech Republic

• Seasons of the year

• Climatic zones

• What kind of weather and which season do you like best?

• Why is the weather forecast important?

The Czech Republic has a moderate continental climate, because it’s located in the in Central Europe. There are some differences between summer and winter, but they aren’t so big. A year is divided into four seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season lasts about three months and is interesting in some way.

Let me begin with spring. Spring begins on the 21 of March. Nature begins to awake from long winter sleep. Nights get shorter and days get longer. There is more sunshine and it is getting warmer. The weather in spring especially in April is unpredictable and changeable. We celebrate Easter in this season, which is a symbolic throwback of spring. We also have a special day called a burning of witches. We celebrate a comeback of spring and this is the day when winter is ceremonially brought to the end by the burning of rag and straw witches.

Let’s move to summer. June 21 is the date when summer begins. For most of the students summer means two months of holidays. Rain often comes in the form of storm, the sky is overcast and it gets darker. Sudden showers and storms are common. Personally, I love storms, because it’s a pleasant change of hot temperature and it has very unusual atmosphere. Temperatures are usually around 20C-27C and the highest temperatures, especially in big cities, are up to 30C. In this time, it’s important to stay in the shadow and drink a lot of water.

And what about autumn? It begins on the 23rd of September. If the weather is enjoyably hot and sunny, we call it the autumn of grandmothers – Indian summer in English. In this season, many people enjoy picking mushrooms. It’s usual that leaves are colored and falls. Temperatures are often around 10-14C. In the 11th of November we celebrate St. Martin, when we expect the first snow fall. The legend says that on this day, Martin will arrive on a white horse. Unfortunately, last years St. Martin arrives on a brown horse.

Finally, let me mention winter. On the 21st of December winter comes. Winter is generally known for winter snowfalls, icy winds, when we can enjoy skiing in the mountains and admire the winter scenery. As far as I remember, snowball often comes later; and it doesn’t stay long time. Temperatures in this season are below 0C. What I should also say is that we celebrate Christmas in winter.

My favorite season is spring. I have read a research which says that people usually prefer season in which they were born. In my case, this is true. But on the other hand, spring isn’t good only because of my birthday, but also because of the atmosphere of resurging nature. To be honest, I don’t enjoy summer, because I really don’t like hot weather.

I’m a person who follows weather forecast regularly. It helps me everyday to decide what kind of clothes I should wear and whether I should take an umbrella with me or not. It is important for everyone, especially for those ones who work outside.