Lorraine Williamson
The calm start to April is over. A Canary Islands weather warning is now in place this Thursday, with rough seas, strong winds, and active alerts across the archipelago. Meanwhile, parts of the mainland also face storms, gusts, and dangerous coastal conditions.
For readers in Spain and those travelling here, this is not just a gloomy forecast. It is the kind of weather shift that can affect beaches, sea crossings, exposed roads and day-to-day plans, especially in the islands and along parts of the southern coast.
Rough seas and strong winds put the Canaries in focus
The Canary Islands government has declared a prealert for winds across the whole archipelago from 00:00 on Thursday, 9 April, while a prealert for coastal phenomena has already been in force since 9.00 am on Tuesday, 7 April. On the same official alert page, Gran Canaria also remains on alert for landslide risk, with Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro on prealert.
AEMET’s marine forecast for the Canary Islands says the combined north-west swell is running at 4 to 5 metres, temporarily increasing to 5 to 6 metres on Thursday. That is the headline risk today: not a little spring breeze, but sea conditions strong enough to make exposed coasts, harbours and seafront areas potentially hazardous.
AEMET also has active wind warnings for parts of the islands on Thursday. In one of its Canary warnings, the agency says gusts could reach 70 km/h, including in parts of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.
That means the story is broader than one island or one beach. The weather is a genuine archipelago-wide issue today, even if the exact level of impact varies from island to island.
Mainland Spain is unsettled too
In its Spain forecast for Thursday 9 April, AEMET warns of locally heavy showers with thunderstorms in parts of the country and flags very strong gusts above 70 km/h in areas including the Almería coast and parts of the Canaries.
There are also active coastal warnings in southern Spain. AEMET’s marine warning for eastern Andalucia says the Granada coast and southern Almería could see easterly and north-easterly winds of 50 to 60 km/h and waves of 2 to 3 metres on Thursday.
For readers on the Costa del Sol and elsewhere in southern Spain, the message is simple. Even where skies look brighter at times, sea conditions and wind can still make the day feel very different from the settled spring weather many people enjoyed earlier in the week.
What travellers should do today
The travel angle here is practical rather than dramatic. The main risk is not that Spain has ground to a halt, but that weather like this can quickly disrupt exposed ferry routes, coastal walks, beach plans and driving conditions, especially where wind gusts or spray hit roads near the sea. That is why official advice matters more than social media noise this morning.
Spain’s traffic authority, the DGT, says there is no special national traffic operation underway at the moment, but it warns that spring weather can change suddenly and advises drivers to check both live traffic conditions and the forecast before setting out. It also says motorists should rethink journeys if weather conditions at their destination are very adverse.
In real terms, that means checking operator updates before a ferry crossing, allowing extra time for road travel, and treating exposed coastal viewpoints, promenades and beaches with more caution than usual.
Friday may feel warmer, but the weekend changes again
There is another reason this story matters today. According to AEMET’s meteorological note issued on Wednesday, 8 April, Thursday and Friday should bring temperatures that are unusually high for the time of year across much of mainland Spain. But from Saturday 11 April, the agency says a significant weather change is very likely, bringing a sharp and widespread fall in temperatures, rain moving from west to east, stronger north-westerly winds and snow in the mountain areas of the northern half of the country.
So Thursday sits in the middle of a wider weather turn. The Canaries are dealing with rough maritime conditions now, parts of southern and western Spain remain unsettled, and the broader national picture points to another notable swing before the weekend is out.