MADRID – The temperatures had already dropped considerably last weekend, but a new cold storm will cross the country again from Monday to Wednesday. Aemet predicts Storm Denise will bring wind, snow, rain, storms and coastal phenomena, including huge waves.
The Spanish weather institute Aemet has warned of gusts of wind at more than 100 kilometres per hour in southern Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. This is due to the arrival of storm Denise, which has formed in the Mediterranean Sea and is bringing very strong winds, rain, snowfall, sea storms and storms on land.
Storm Denise
Denise generally makes for an unpleasant day on almost the entire peninsula. The biggest problem these days will be the wind, according to Ruben del Campo of Aemet. He explains that the very strong gusts are due to “the difference in atmospheric pressure between the Azores anticyclone and a storm around the British Isles”.
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Strongest wind gusts around midnight
The heaviest wind gusts will occur from Monday to Tuesday around midnight. A sea storm will arise in the Balearic archipelago with waves that could be over seven metres high. Denise will settle in the Gulf of Genoa area. In large parts of the peninsula, gusts of wind could have a force of more than 70 or 80 kilometres per hour.
Rain in northern and northwest Spain
Rainfall will be more abundant and persistent in Galicia, the Cantabrian coast and the Western Pyrenees. Showers and storms are expected late in the day on the Balearic Islands and the Catalan coast, which can be locally strong.
On the southeast coast of the peninsula and in Melilla, light clouds or intermittent medium and high clouds are expected. And in the Canary Islands, clouds are expected in the north of the islands. Light rain is expected in La Palma and a few clouds in the rest.
37 areas were affected by the cold storm
In Andalucia, high waves will hit the coasts of Malaga, Almeria and Granada. Aemet warns against this with code orange, significant risk. Strong winds are also a factor to take into account in those areas.
Aragón and Teruel have a yellow warning for wind, Huesca for rain, and an orange warning for snow. Asturias is coded orange for waves, as is Cantabria, which also has a yellow warning for wind. In Galicia, coastal phenomena prompted Aemet to warn Lugo, Pontevedra and La Coruña with the colour orange. The last two also get code yellow because of rain. Also, open a yellow risk due to rain.
Navarre has a yellow warning for rain and snow in the higher areas. Code orange applies to the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya for an important risk of high waves and wind gusts.
The wind keeps Ávila, Burgos, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Zamora and Valladolid, in Castilla y León, on code yellow. This phenomenon will also affect all provinces of Castilla-La Mancha, which will also receive a code yellow warning.
The Madrid region can count on strong winds, while Murcia will have to deal with coastal phenomena, just like Barcelona and Girona in Catalonia. Code yellow is in effect in Lleida due to snow and yellow in Tarragona due to strong winds and waves. Wind and rain also deliver Alicante, Castellón and Valencia code yellow.
The same warning level applies to the Balearic Islands, Ibiza and Formentera for wind and waves, and Mallorca and Menorca for wind, rain, waves and storms. Tenerife is at risk of yellow due to waves.
Snow, wind and strong waves
The snow line will drop to 900 – 1,100 metres in the Cantabrian Mountains and the Central and Iberian systems. In the Pyrenees, the snow line is slightly higher, at 1,600 metres, with precipitation all day. In The night from Monday to Tuesday, about 20 centimetres of snow can fall in the central Pyrenees.
Maximum temperatures
Maximum temperatures will fall sharply in the southern part of the Pyrenees but will rise in the eastern Balearic Islands, the western Canary Islands, the lower Ebro and the southeast coast of the peninsula. The minima are falling in the northwest of the country and rising in the east of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and the Valencian Community.
Waves up to seven metres high
Aemet warns that sea conditions will worsen on the high seas and in coastal areas. In Galicia and the Cantabrian area, waves can reach five to six metres and rise to six or seven metres on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. On Tuesday morning, the waves can reach up to seven or eight metres on the eastern Cantabrian coast. However, on the Mediterranean coast, this is somewhat lower at two to four metres. But on Menorca, it is expected they can reach up to five metres.
