Arremedas - superstition or reality?

SUPERSTIÇÃO OU REALIDADE

Abstract

“In January you can see the weather for the whole year” is a folk adage that serves as a motto for the system of arremedas and desarremedas. According to popular belief, it is possible to make the weather forecast for the whole year by watching the weather between January 1st and 12th (arremedas) checking it between January 13th and 24th (desarremedas). By analysing the daily precipitation between 1950 and 2003 for 257 locations in mainland Portugal, made available by IPMA (Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere), the aim of this article is to verify how reliable the adage was. The results obtained suggest that the system is nothing more than superstition