A small DANA approaches Spain. This ‘isolated high-level depression’ is embedded in a polar depression and will produce locally heavy showers and thunderstorms. Spain’s meteorological institute AEMET has already issued warnings of heavy rainfall in several communities, including holiday areas popular with tourists.
Today, Saturday, the chance of rain is greatest in the eastern part of Cantabria, the Pyrenees, the province of Girona in the northeast of Catalonia, the Iberian System, the mountains in the southeast and parts of the Valencia region, the eastern part of Castilla-La Mancha and the eastern part of Andalucia.
Showers in Alicante, Balearic Islands and parts of Catalonia
Rainfall is expected from early morning and even from midnight in the Mediterranean, especially in Alicante, the south of the Balearic Islands and parts of Catalonia. These showers may be accompanied by thunder. In the afternoon the heaviest downpours, accompanied by thunderstorms, are expected in Girona, northern Barcelona, the Iberian region of Teruel-Castellón and in the foothills of Sierra Morena, Cazorla and Segura in northeastern Andalucia. In these areas, 20 to 30 l/m2 of precipitation can fall in just one or two hours, and possibly even more.
Warnings for heavy rain and thunder
AEMET has therefore issued rain and thunderstorm warnings in Cazorla and Segura (Jaén), Alcaraz and Segura (Albacete) and in some districts of Girona and Barcelona, especially in the vicinity of the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, the Central Depression, the promontory and the coast. In these areas there is a high chance of thunderstorms with showers that can cause up to 20 to 25 l/m2 of precipitation in just one hour. In addition, there is a small chance (10-15%) of hail in the provinces of Albacete and Jaén, according to the ESSL (European Severe Storm Laboratory).
Meteorologists are also warning of easterly winds in the Strait of Gibraltar with gusts of more than 70 km/h in areas of Cádiz in south-west Andalucia and waves of more than 3 metres in the Strait of Gibraltar and along the coast of A Coruña.
Temperature drop, but still warm in the southwest
The day starts cold in the north, with minimum temperatures of 5 to 9 ºC in large parts of the northern plateau, inland Galicia, the Cantabrian area and mountainous areas. Nights will be milder in the south-west and along the Mediterranean coast, with minimum temperatures between 16 and 19ºC and some tropical nights in southern Extremadura.
Maximum temperatures will drop in the south, but remain relatively high. In the south-west, temperatures will again exceed 30ºC, with more than 34ºC forecast in the lower interior of Andalucia and Extremadura in the Guadalquivir and Guadiana river basins. Along the Galician and Cantabrian coasts the temperature will barely reach 18-19 ºC. In the Canary Islands, meteorologists expect temperatures of 24 to 26 ºC on the south and east coasts of the islands and below 20 ºC in the mountains.
Also read: AEMET predicts: summer in Spain will be warmer and drier than normal