The British dream of a sunny day on the beach in Spain may be at risk this weekend as yellow and even orange weather alerts have been issued for several tourist regions and islands. Thunderstorms and heavy rain have been in place since midnight local time across much of Spain’s famous northeastern region, as well as near Valencia, the coast of the popular Costa del Sol and even the Balearic Islands.
The weather warnings are expected to remain active until 8.59pm on Saturday evening. In some of the most affected areas, up to 30 millimetres of rain is expected to fall, posing what has been described by the Spanish Meterological Agency, AEMET, as a “significant risk”. Beginning in the world-renowned Balearics, the entire archipelago, which includes Majorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Menorca, is under yellow weather alerts. There is a “risk” of as much as 20 millimetres of rain falling in one hour, with storms that may be accompanied by very strong gusts of wind and hail. The yellow alerts here will be effective from 2pm on Saturday and remain in place until 11.59pm tonight, local time.
Moving to the mainland, yellow alerts are in place for popular holiday region in the south, which includes Almeria, Granada and the Costa del Sol. Here, west and southwest winds of 50 to 60 kph (31 to 37mph), force 7, are expected to batter its beautiful beaches, along with waves that could reach two to three metres, according to AEMET. This alert is in place from 10am local time until 9.59pm this evening.
Near Alicante and Valencia, yellow alerts are also in place. There is a risk of 30 millimetres of accumulated rain in one hour, as well as storms that may be accompanied by hail of less than two centimetres and very strong gusts of wind. These warnings are both in place from 11am to 8.59pm local time this evening.
Bizarrely, the southern coast of Alicante is under a different warning. Here, hot temperatures are the concern. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 36C, in this region, mainly in interior areas. This warning will be in force from 1pm until 8.59pm on Saturday.
It is the northeastern corner of Spain, home to some of the country’s most popular cities including Barcelona, that will be most affected. Orange weather warnings are in place across much of this region.
There is a “significant risk” of heavy rain, with 50 millimetres rain predicted to accumulate in one hour, and some 80 miliemetres over the course of 12 hours. This alert is in place from midnight until 8.59pm local time tonight. There is also a “significant risk” of storms, which may be accompanied by hail of up to two centimetres and very strong gusts of winds. This is in place for the same period of time.
Thankfully, this barrage of poor weather appears to be short-lived, with conditions returning to normal and much of Spain’s weather alerts being removed by Sunday. They will only remain in the northern region around Bilbao. By Monday (July 14), the heatwave appears to be making a comeback, with predicted temperatures of up to 38C expected in the southern Andalusia region. A yellow weather warning looks set to be in place from 1pm to 8.59pm local time on Monday.
