British tourists visiting Spain could be set for a warmer April after the country suffered heavy rains and flooding in March. According to meteorologists, next month is predicted to be “hotter than normal” following a wet March that received as much rainfall in the first nine days as it typically does in the entire month.
“There’s a 50% chance April will be hotter than normal, with temperatures rising up to 1 degree above average,” according to Juan de Dios del Pino of Spain’s State Meteorological Agency, Aemet. However, the agency confirmed the above-average rainfall could continue through to Semana Santa (Holy Week) in mid-April in Andalusia’s Seville, raising concern following flooding yesterday in the area. Forecasters will be able to get a clearer understanding as April draws closer, adding: “No clear signal yet allows us to determine precisely what will happen with April’s rain patterns.”
Firefighters had to evacuate locals and animals in Andalucia on 17 March due to river surges created by Storm Laurence.
Emergency services dealt with 54 incidents in the morning due to heavy rain when three rivers’ banks burst, with 28 incidents reported in Andalucia, 17 in Huelva and eight in Cordoba.
Parts of the Malaga province were also placed on an orange weather alert yesterday evening, affecting the Costa del Sol and Ronda, and forecasters predicted that up to 80 millimetres of rain could fall in 12 hours.
Aemet predicts the heavy rains will continue this week, with large parts of Spain under a yellow weather alert, with up to 40mm of rain predicted to fall in 12 hours in the northwest regions of Salamanca and Zamora on Thursday.
The high rainfall in March could see an end to water restrictions in Spain since 2021 due to droughts.
An Aemet spokesperson said: “With the amount of rain falling now in March, it cannot be ruled out that this situation ends up being reversed,” adding that “it is probable that we emerge in March” from the long-term drought.
They confirmed Spain had already received as much rainfall in the first nine days of March as it typically does in the entire month.