ROTA – In the early hours of Wednesday, a tornado, caused by storm Efraín, passed with devastating effect over the town of Rota in Andalucia (Cádiz).
Trees were uprooted, covered terraces were ripped away, rubbish bins roamed the streets and residents even found a car upside down. The natural phenomenon also damaged homes and some public areas.
Inicio de tornado tomada en Rota hoy… mola! pic.twitter.com/bnkwHAFc
— Sofía ~ (@SofiFuCi) October 26, 2012
The Rota City Council said in a statement that a tornado developed in the vicinity of the fairgrounds around 3.00 am this Wednesday. Here the damage was great. The “Francisco José Zafra” paddle tennis courts have been particularly affected, as have the surrounding houses.
Fortunately, according to the local police, no personal damage occurred. The city government has mobilised as many resources and personnel as possible to assist in the tornado-affected areas to restore normality and ensure safety.
🌪️ Esta pasada madrugada un posible #tornado (o más de uno) ha afectado a las localidades de #Rota y #Jerez, provocando numerosos daños materiales pero, ¿son frecuentes los tornados o mangas marinas en nuestra zona? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/P0RxE8gLGz
— El tiempo en Cádiz (@EltiempoenCadiz) December 14, 2022
Tornado in Marbella
This tornado adds to the tornado in Marbella that took place last week, which also caused damage to the streets and to the Costa del Sol hospital and knocked down trees. Then, a hospital employee was also slightly injured.
Storm Efrain mainly causes damage in Extremadura
Storm Efraín and the numerous intense rains that accompany it have led to several river and drainage overflows, landslides and even a sinkhole in a road in Badajoz in recent days. Extremadura and Andalucia are two of the most affected regions.
What is a Tornado?
A tornado is a whirlwind, which is visible as a funnel-shaped trunk under a shower cloud. Tornadoes are dangerous, especially because of their enormous power and the violent vortices around a vertical axis. The area with high wind speeds is usually less than a kilometre.
The origin of tornadoes is linked to the formation of a “supercell”, that is, a thundercloud of great size and violence developed in a hydrostatically unstable environment.
Are tornadoes common in Spain?
Tornadoes seem to be phenomena more typical of other parts of the planet, but nothing could be further from the truth. While not frequent, tornadoes do form in Spain with “certain frequency”.
Certain weather conditions, such as instability and high humidity, are necessary for the formation. Therefore, they are more common in coastal areas or above the sea. On average, Spain has about 22 tornadoes or waterspouts per year.
More and more tornadoes in Spain
Recent studies show that tornadoes are on the increase in Spain due to more extreme weather conditions due to the influence of climate change. In some parts of Spain it has been raining almost continuously for two weeks now. El Tiempo predicts that it won’t stop raining until Saturday in most parts of Spain.
Rain showers for another 48 hours
After the heavy rainfall on Tuesday the 13th, the weather map of Spain will again show mostly rain clouds on Wednesday and Thursday. The rain will be of a more moderate intensity. It remains especially rainy in Extremadura, Andalucia, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid region and Castilla y León.
On Thursday, various weather alerts will apply to the area around the Strait of Gibraltar due to heavy rain. Also on the coasts of Barcelona, Granada and Málaga, there are again warnings for heavy rain. It is also getting wet in the north in Cantabria. On the other hand, the chance of rain is moderate in the region of Valencia, Murcia, Ceuta and the provinces of Teruel, Albacete and Almería.
Less rain on Friday
It will clear up a bit in large parts of the country on Friday. Rain is only predicted for Andalucia and Ceuta and in the south of Extremadura. The showers will weaken there in the afternoon.
