The country is still feeling the impact of Storm Olivier
The latest weather forecast for Spain ahead of Easter weekend(Image: Martin Child/Getty Images)
Torrential rain and floods hit parts of Spain over the weekend, prompting an emergency declaration by local authorities on Saturday, April 12. Heavy flooding was particularly bad on the Canary island of Lanzarote.
Lanzarote’s government declared a state of emergency overnight on April 13, after 6cm (2.4 inches) of rain poured down on the popular holiday destination in just two hours. The state of emergency was lifted on Sunday morning.
The torrential rain came as Storm Oliver hit, which swept over the Canaries, mainland Spain and Portugal, many weather alerts were issued. Spain’s meteorological service has issued weather warnings for many areas of the country from Sunday to Tuesday.
Weather warning remain in place across parts of Spain, including tourist hot-spot Andalucía. Forecasters are predicting that the Easter holiday period in Spain will be marked by “unstable weather” due to the passage of fronts associated with Atlantic storms and the arrival of cold air in the upper layers of the atmosphere.
Yesterday, April 14, Andalucía, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarre and the Basque Country were all under a yellow weather warning for waves, rains and storms, according to Spanish weather agency Aemet.
In Andalucía, the yellow weather warning was reactivated today, April 15. This will be extended to Strait of Cadiz between 2pm and 8pm. Aemet forecasts that the strong gusts will continue into Wednesday along the coast of Almería and Granada, with warnings until the early hours of the morning.
Spain, Andalucia, Malaga, Nerja, coastal cityscape and beach(Image: Martin Child/Getty Images)
Local news site SurinEnglish has reported: “Between Tuesday and Holy Wednesday a mass of polar air will arrive, which will cause a marked drop in temperatures, which will also be almost generalised.”
They add: “Specifically, after a rainy start to the week, there will be a “somewhat calmer” period in some areas of the country between Wednesday and Friday, although the final stretch of the week could again be rainy in large parts of the country.
“Maundy Thursday will be a day of truce. The only exception will be in Galicia and the Cantabrian regions, while in the rest of the country there will be cloudy intervals with some showers in inland areas. Once again, there will be frost at dawn in northern areas, as well as in central areas.
“Although uncertainty is high for Good Friday, the approach of a new storm could bring rain to the north, west and centre of the peninsula. In principle, rainfall on Saturday would be more widespread.”
Aemet spokesperson, Rubén del Campo says that showers could occur in large areas of the Spanish mainland, while on Sunday showers could hit in the north, east and Balearic Islands.
Yesterday, The Foreign Office shared further advice for people travelling to Spain, after torrential rain hit parts of the country. Issuing advice on gov.uk, the Foreign Office states: “Heavy rainfall and flooding in Lanzarote occurred over the weekend. Journeys may be affected. If you are in Lanzarote or travelling to Lanzarote, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local weather updates.”
Advising what people should do before they travel to Spain, the FCDO recommends checking two things:
- your destination can provide the healthcare you may need
- you have appropriate travel insurance for local treatment or unexpected medical evacuation