When does Al-Wasm season start? Its dates, stars and rain

Al-Wasm season starts on 16 October every year, by the star calendar used in Saudi Arabia, and runs for 52 days until 6 December; Al-Murabbaniya begins the next day, on 7 December. Al-Wasm is made of four stars of thirteen days each: Al-Awwa, Al-Simak, Al-Ghafr and Al-Zubana. So if today falls between mid-October and early December, Al-Wasm has started. For people who head out to the desert it is the season they wait for all summer, because its rains, when they come on time, turn the ground green and open the trip season.

When does Al-Wasm season start? The four stars

Dr Abdullah Al-Musnad, vice president of the Saudi Meteorology and Climate Society, puts it simply: Al-Wasm "is not a lunar mansion or a star in the sky, but a description of a time of the year." It is the name for a stretch of four consecutive stars, and these are the dates he gives for them:

Star	Starts
Al-Awwa	16 October
Al-Simak	29 October
Al-Ghafr	11 November
Al-Zubana	24 November

Because the star calendar follows the sun rather than the moon, these dates barely move in the Gregorian calendar from one year to the next. Ask "has Al-Wasm started?" at the end of October and the answer is yes: you are in Al-Simak. Specialists note that the start can differ slightly from region to region, but 16 October is the date almost every published calendar uses.

Before Al-Wasm comes the Suhail season, whose last star, Al-Sarfa, ends on 15 October. Dr Khalid Al-Zaaq counts the end of Suhail as part of Al-Wasm in its effect, which is why the weather often starts to soften a few days before the official date. After Al-Wasm comes Al-Murabbaniya, the start of real winter cold.

Why is it called Al-Wasm?

The word comes from wasma, a mark. The season takes its name from its rain, which marks the land with green and plants, leaving a sign anyone passing can see. Dr Khalid Al-Zaaq describes Al-Wasm's rain as marking the land "with every kind of meadow, every kind of spring growth and every kind of truffle."

Al-Zaaq also separates the calendar Al-Wasm, the 52 days of the star count, from the real Al-Wasm, which he puts at about ninety days, because the rain's effect on the land lasts long after the dates have passed. Anyone who goes out regularly has seen this: the rain falls in Al-Wasm, and the grass shows up weeks later.

What does Al-Wasm rain bring?

Temperatures drop in Al-Wasm and the chance of rain rises; it is the turn from autumn to winter. Its rain is known for bringing up the spring grasses and faqa', the desert truffle, which is why truffle hunters follow Al-Wasm's forecasts more closely than any other season's. On the Tihama coast, the start of Al-Wasm coincides with the sidr trees flowering and the migrating birds coming back.

Weather watchers say it takes three or four weeks into the season before you can judge it, so the first days tell you little about whether it will be a good year. Desert people don't rush it. They watch the sky, and they go out to where the rain fell once the plants have had time to come up.

What Al-Wasm means for a desert trip

For many people Al-Wasm is the start of camping season. Days are still warm, but the night cools towards its end, so you will want long sleeves or a light crewneck after sunset. The ground after rain is at its most beautiful and also at its most fragile: keep to the known tracks and leave the place the way you found it.

Al-Wasm at Barr

We start our calendar with Al-Wasm because it is the season when most people start heading out, and every collection after it opens weeks before its season, so there is time to make and ship your piece before the season arrives. Our first collection carries its name: Drop 01: Al-Wasm, sixteen pieces in the desert's language, available now. The one closest to the season is the Wasm Tee: the season's four stars above and the rain on the sand. Al-Wasm's rain is also embroidered on the Wasm Washed Cap and on the chest of the Ember Tea Hoodie. Every piece is made for you after you order. To see what comes after Al-Wasm, read Seasons of the desert.