Guadalajara endured another chilly spell this week, with the first January rains the result of the latest cold front to hit Mexico.
Cold Front 28 hit the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico the hardest, but it also brought cold temperatures and drizzle to central and northern states.
Such conditions are not unusual for this time of year. The University of Guadalajara’s Institute of Astronomy and Meteorology (AMI) says January is generally the coldest month of winter in this part of the country, but the weather will improve after the first half of February.
According to campesino tradition, January rains known as “las cabañuelas” serve as a forecast for the amount of rainfall due this year. Significant precipitation in January is considered an augur for an abundant June-September rainy season.Derived from cabaña (the Spanish word for a small cabin or hut), the term aptly describes the cold and wet weather that drives people inside to huddle beneath the blankets.
The concept was at least partly derived from an old European custom for forecasting the coming year’s weather based on observations made during the first 12 to 24 days of August, September or January, depending upon the region involved. This would have been brought to Mexico by Spanish settlers, although some historians and anthropologists have even found similar practices common to the Maya and Aztec cultures.