The first April shower in Angers last staturday

The weather in Angers province is becoming milder these days. The atmosphere is rainy. Gardens and streets are wet. Winter is not over yet but spring is slightly knocking at the door. In clumps, the shoots of daffodils are emerging and will start to bloom in the days to come. The forsythia branches starts to turn yellow. But the first clue of the change of season is the arrival of the April showers.

Last saturday in the afernoon Angers got its firts of 2011, covering the ground with little round white balls which melted a few minutes after they dropped. April showers is a short and violent rain which occurs during the transition from winter to spring and is caused by the meteorologicoa phenomenon of convection.

The convection is a vertical move of the air itself due to thermical contrast which takes place when spring is coming : the low layers of atmosphere are heating while low temperatures still remain in altitude and the ground is still cold. Due to vertical air streams, wet and mild air rises and condenses, creating clouds of droplets made of water or ice. Others may arrive in the weeks to come.