As a result of the passage of two danas – isolated depression at high levels, a pocket of air in high layers of the atmosphere – Spain is hogging so much rain this week that the Met Office, the British meteorological agency, wonders where its water has gone. "While the UK remains dry, if you go on holiday to southern Europe keep an eye on the forecast. Parts of Spain can record a month's worth of rainfall in a day or two," the agency warned on Thursday. This has been the case in recent hours, in which 198 liters per square meter have been collected in Castellón, 150 of them in just two hours, the highest figure in May, while in Benicàssim 220 have been reached. "There is no precedent for something similar outside the autumn months," stresses the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). And so it will continue to be the next few days, because this weekend, in which municipal elections are held throughout Spain and regional elections in 12 communities, the unstable weather remains in most of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, with showers that in some cases could be strong and be accompanied by storm and hail and with low temperatures in general for the time of year, except in the far north, where they will be higher than normal.
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A waterspout in Molina de Segura causes serious damage and the rescue of at least 15 people
On Thursday afternoon there were numerous showers of torrential intensity – 10 liters per square meter in 10 minutes or 60 liters per hour – in the east of the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and points in the central area, accompanied punctually by hail. Of these, Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), highlights the 17 liters in just 10 minutes in Utiel (Valencia), and the 11 in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid) and Porreras (Mallorca). And in Molina de Segura (Murcia), a waterspout caused serious damage and the rescue of at least 15 people.
This Friday, Aemet expects practically generalized showers in the Peninsula, with a situation that can be adverse in large areas, especially in Castilla y León, Community of Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, due to heavy rains that could exceed 15 or 20 liters in an hour or 40 in 12. The warning is orange, the second level of the three existing, until 10 in the morning in the Valencian Community, while it is yellow, the lowest, in Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Madrid.
Saturday will continue "the influence of low pressures, which will be located west of Portugal" and again will be a day with showers accompanied by storm that could occur in most of the territory, except in the northeast. Thus, it is unlikely to rain in Navarra, La Rioja, Aragon and Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, while the heaviest rainfall is expected in Andalusia, southern Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and inland Galicia. There are notices, all yellow, in Andalusia, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Galicia.
Temperatures will drop in the southern third and rise in the northern half. "Bilbao, Logroño, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Lleida and Girona will be around 30°, while Murcia and Seville will barely reach 25°. They will be temperatures between 5 ° and 10 ° above normal in the far north and between 5 ° and 10 ° below much of the southern half, "details the spokesman for Aemet.
Sunday, the day of the vote, will be another day with rains and stormy showers spread over large areas, the most intense in the south of Galicia, western end of Castilla y León and south of the Valencian Community. "Where they are less likely to happen will be on the Cantabrian coast, the Ebro Valley, eastern Catalonia and the southern tip of the peninsula," Del Campo completes the forecast. At the moment, there is only one notice, in the Valencian Community. Temperatures "will drop slightly in the central area and remain unchanged in the rest." Thus, it will be a day "again hot in the northern third, where you can exceed 27 ° in Pamplona, Logroño, Zaragoza and Lleida, and cooler in the center and south. Madrid will barely pass 20°, Seville will stay at about 23° and Granada, at 24°".
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⚠️ Friday starts with showers, a lot of caution on the road. @Nuria_Sero tells you all the details. 👇🏿 pic.twitter.com/xP0Mpbrihm
— El Tiempo en TVE (@ElTiempo_tve) May 26, 2023
The situation will not change next week, which will begin with a similar weather: showers in large areas of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. On this occasion, the highest probability and intensity of rainfall will be in the northern and eastern halves, while the southwest, Extremadura and western Andalusia will be somewhat further aside. "Temperatures will tend to rise, although the warm environment will continue for the time of the northern third and cooler in the central area and the southern half. Only 25° will be exceeded in the Ebro depression, points of the Cantabrian and Catalonia, in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys and in the extreme southeast, "says Del Campo.
This situation could last during the second half of the week, in which the meteorological summer begins on Thursday, June 1, so the season "will not start with hot and dry weather." The prediction for the next three weeks continues to bring good news: a trend of rainfall above normal values and temperatures below at least until mid-June.
In the Canary Islands, the next few days a regime of breezes and weak winds is expected, with possible showers, especially in the interior of the islands of greater relief, more intense from noon. Temperatures will not change too much, with values close to 25° in the early afternoon.
A May that is still dry
These abundant rains in some areas of the country have somewhat reduced the rainfall deficit in May, but they do not solve by far either the balance of the month or the long-term drought situation suffered by Spain. From May 1 to May 23, 25 liters per square meter had fallen. "It is still a dry month until that date, but it already exceeds in rains May 2022, in which only 20 liters fell," says Del Campo.
"As of May 23, Spain continues to drag a rainfall deficit of 27% since the beginning of the hydrological year, on October 1. They had fallen 371 liters when the normal is 508, "adds the spokesman for Aemet. "We will see if the rainfall that has fallen these last days and those that remain to fall until the end of May ensure that the spring of 2023 is not the driest in the historical series," concludes the expert.
