Weather in Portugal

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to As the Dinoson's Turn, where we chronicle the adventures of the Dinoson family, a seemingly ordinary family from Iowa who decided, hey, you only live once, so let's move to Portugal. And now your hosts, Jason and Tracy Dinason.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to another episode of As the Dinason's Turn. And this time I thought it would be interesting to talk about the weather and Portuguese buildings and some of the comparisons between the US and Portugal as far as weather goes.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Well, let's put into context that we are from the Midwest, uh, northern Midwest, actually. And so we are from Iowa, it is very cold, it's snowy, it's below freezing, and that was something I never wanted to do again. So I've already said that if I ever have to shovel snow, we're out and have to move further south. That lets you know how I feel. But um the weather is definitely cold in a lot of respects because there's the way we think of central heat in the United States is not the same as in Portugal. Um we do have the option of central heat in our apartment, um, and some buildings don't even have that. Um we have space heaters that you use in old buildings, but I would say that we don't use our central heat radiators very often because um natural gas is so expensive. So we know we've always got at least one month where we've got probably 500 euro worth of natural gas because it gets really cold. But you spend all your time wearing really fuzzy socks and giant cozy snootties, and you wear your sweatshirts and sweatpants and stuff inside, but you change before you leave. Um, what I have noticed though is that it really depends on if the sun shines or not. Yeah, so what are your thoughts on weather and heat and difference of Portuguese buildings? Because we've lived in a variety.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

I think it's the idea for this came from an I don't know, someone posting online about moving from somewhere in like Oklahoma or something. That I don't know, they were talking about how the temperatures are somewhat similar or something, but the you know, as far as the year-round temperatures go, or like winter time 40s and 50s, but how it's actually not nearly as comfortable in Portugal as in the US in places where it's in the forties and fifties this time of year, because of the lack of insulation in so many buildings. And I think that that actually, even for us being in Iowa, you know, and even in the old 1950s house that we lived in uh originally for many, many years, I don't recall it getting cold like it does here, even when it's really cold outside. Like I recall wearing shorts and t-shirts inside the house even when it was like below zero outside. But here it could be like 55 degrees outside, but it's like 60 degrees inside because of the lack of insulation. At least where we live, I'm sure you know you can buy houses that have uh insulation. We have, if you're watching on the video, the dog wanted to be held. He likes being held like a baby. So here's Stan.

SPEAKER_02 3:41

But I think that well, I mean, buildings are constructed differently. So buildings are made out of stone and steel, and um, stone is meant to breathe, and you need the stone to breathe so that the damp is taken care of. Um but um damp is and dump damp is something that we deal with a lot here. Um, so I think that that's important. Dehumidifier is something that we use all of the time. Um, we have a dehumidifier running in every bathroom. Um we don't have to use it as much in summertime, but in wintertime we have to use a dehumidifier quite a bit. Um, and so because there's not like giant foam insulation or those things inside the walls, um, and the stone is pretty much just stuccoed over the top, like the brickwork stone has just got like, you know, plaster or something over the top of it. It's not drywall. Um, that's also very different. I think that you're right, the building materials have pluses and minuses. The big plus is that if there's a fire, then the whole structure is not gonna come down. You're gonna burn the things on the inside and be able to replace it. It stands up to weather. This is why you can find ruins that have been there for hundreds of years that you can reconstruct the inside of it and make it a home. And so you don't see that, you see buildings falling over in the United States because they're made of wood, because that's what was there. So I think that that yes, it's it's definitely different. Um, but if the sun's shining and you can be in the sunshine 50 degrees, 45 degrees feels marvelous, and it always feels warmer. And um if it's you have to be ready for rain at any moment, though, certain times of year in the north. You just have to. So we have I always have like an umbrella with me. If you know there's a chance of rain, you always wear a raincoat, even if it's gonna be like hot and make you sweaty. Um, you need it because you'll have this random torrent of rain. It'll be this huge downpour, and then it's like, oh, okay, that's over. Um, this morning it was 37 degrees when I got it, then took the boys to school, and so there was ice on the backwind shield because sun hadn't gotten to it yet. Um, but everything else was fine, and so we just kind of like warmed up the car for a minute.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

But so we don't deal with snow where we're at. There was a picture on Facebook of something in like 2009 or something when it snowed like an inch in our town, and there were pictures of it, but that's very, very rare that it snows, but it does get down to like 35 degrees in the morning sometimes in like December, January, February. And so you have frost on the car, and also in some of the low-lying areas, you might have some black ice on the roads before the sun comes up high enough to hit it.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

But and there's a lot of fog in this area because of the valleys and the mountains, and so fog I think is the number one thing that you deal with for longer periods of time. Um, that said, you know, I'm looking at my posts from last year, and last year, this time we were in the mid and upper 60s, and this year we're in the 50s, and so it's it's chilly this right now, and so we're hoping that that cycle is going to break a little bit. Um, but I think that I prefer this weather infinitely. We also are further inland, and so if you are more on the coastal side, um your weather will definitely be different. We are, I think, like we said, about 20 minutes towards the mountains outside of Braga, whereas if you go 20 minutes the other direction to the um to the west outside of Braga, then you're immediately on the coast, and so I think that that's important to know too. Um, and I spend most of my day or late afternoon is in Guimaraesh and I walk around the town everywhere and I'm up and down that mountain. Um so, like I said, this part rain. But I like it. I like it a lot. I still wonder if being up north is a little too cold. Um, I can't even believe I'm saying that because I used to give my mom a hard time when she would say it's inhumanely cold in Houston and it's like 60 degrees or 55 degrees, and now I'm saying the same thing. You dress for the season here, you don't dress for the weather. So you wear a coat and all of those things, even if it's like 65 degrees or so, you're dressing for the season because it can change and weather changes quickly, just like anywhere else. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

We say we're kind of in the mountains, but the elevation is like a thousand feet where we are, which is the same. That's the same elevation, but approximately as like Des Moines or a lot of Iowa. So, but it's all relative because you're coming from the coastline about 60 minutes away, and then suddenly you're at a thousand feet. So, I mean that is an elevation gain, I guess. Plus, you don't have to drive too far to get to like real mountains that are several thousand feet tall.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Exactly. We drive another 15 minutes north and then you're in you're in mountains where it does snow.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

It does snow.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Yes. No, I don't want to be there when it's snowing. I'm sorry. I don't miss it. And for those of you who are there and it's cold, sorry. Um, you know, this is a good place to live, and if you can work online, I highly recommend it. Um yeah, I I love the sun. The sun is shining today, and I feel it in my bones. I'm happy, I'm joyous, and you can tell the difference in town too, because when the sun is shining, everything is busy, everybody is out, they're still they're standing on the streets, they're talking to each other, they're going to the fruteria, you know, they're going to the tall to go and get their meat, and they're just having great conversations. People are enjoying the cafes or just sitting out in the middle of the plazas to enjoy the sunshine and it's soak it up. So um, yeah, take advantage while you can.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

I guess so. Well, it's a short podcast this time around, but uh we have anything else to fill about 45 more seconds so we can get to 10 minutes?

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Oh, well, I can tell you right now that um I enjoy the sunshine, the heat, but we also get the flip side of that, where in summertime it gets really warm. And so when I say warm, we're looking 100 degrees, um, and then you're using your portable air conditioning or you're throwing water on the floor to mop it up to keep the flooring cool and all of those things as well. And so, in a difference between houses where I lived in Seville, Spain, and then the houses in northern Portugal, the houses in Seville are built for airflow. Um, so even when it's like 110 degrees outside, the inside is cool. Um, that is not the case in Portugal. We're not most places are not built for airflow. Um, it's not something you take into consideration. Um, but we are lucky enough that we uh have a front patio and a back patio on our apartment, which means that we can get some good airflow coming through the apartment too, and don't have to use our heat until it's, you know, in the mid-80s, 90s. Um, so that's our goal anyway.

unknown 10:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

All right, well, we'll catch you again next week on another episode of As the Dinoson's Turn.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

You've been listening to As the Dinoson's Turn, a podcast presented by Dinoson Media Ventures. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and catch us again next time for another episode.