We'd Rather Be Walking: What is an Orange Weather and Wind Warning Anyway?

It's so human: The whole business of constantly checking weather forecasts. We check first seeking
details to inform our decisions. Do I need a jacket? Are sunglasses required? Must I vary my route? Then, when the information is other than what we hope for (i.e., a jacket is required when shirt sleeves only are desired, or an umbrella is recommended when sunglasses and sunscreen are preferred), we keep checking back on the forecast. Almost as though we believe that if one checks often enough, one can change the future weather. And being human, we double/triple/quadruple checked the forecast for Tuesday's cycling. It never changed: Chilly and windy, with a persistent chance of rain. That darned orange weather warning kept appearing too -- popping up as an advisory (most particularly, related to wind conditions). As the day played out, we understood.

The narrative for today's ride read, "you climb steadily for much of the day, pedaling deep into the Sicilian countryside with little sign of habitation except for individual farms and villas on much of the route." Hmmm -- remote, lots of uphill cycling and no refreshments or possible refuge along the way. Got it. Wonder if the orange wind and weather warnings might make any of that important?

By noon, Axel added long pants under his biking shorts

Despite having met the morning with blue skies and a gentle breeze, by the time we finished breakfast and headed out of Noto, the weather world was changing. We climbed the narrow alley streets to exit the city gate with howling winds whipping trash and debris around our wheels. We dismounted our bikes when the rain and sleet made speeding along slick cobblestones an impossibility. We hunkered down and peddled, wondering how much worse could it get, really?


And I thought this would be funny!

Well, it was a long riding day with the wind at times doubling-down on the uphill resistance. You know that experience of barely moving fast enough to maintain balance on a bike? Well, there you go! I took what I thought would be a funny photo of telephone lines leaning toward the road (looking, I thought, as though they had been pushed over by the wind). Turns out, that was exactly what had happened. The front that moved across the region included some scary gale-force gusts -- being pushed into traffic by the winds was a frightening thought for me more than once. Turns out an orange weather warning means there is an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather; that communication and transportation lines could be interrupted due to weather conditions; that there is potential risk to life and property and that there is a high potential that weather may disrupt planned activity. Ha! Now we know.

Brrr! Sleet and rain and wind (lots of wind)

Most of the day. my camera spent protected in my pannier. The photo at right is when the four of us huddled against a stone wall along the road for protection from the worst of the blowing sleet and rain we experienced (you can see the pain of the situation in Bettina, squatting to mass heat and conserve any remaining warmth (rain jacket on, hood up)). The temperature dropped from about 52F to 35F in no time flat. When we resumed cycling, we passed a utility crew responding to downed power lines maybe a quarter of a mile from where we huddled for protection from the storm.

And there were a few photos taken between the crazy weather events, which stayed with us for most of the day. Challenging weather and terrain can really draw out a 35-mile ride!