The Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior has warned of heavy rain in large areas of northeast Spain and the Balearics over the next few days according to this afternoon’s forecast from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The agency explained that a trough is moving towards the northeast of the mainland and the Balearics, which is leading to increasing instability.
From tomorrow, it has warned that the entire Mediterranean area will be affected by this phenomenon, which will eventually be felt over a large part of the country. The formation of low pressure and humidity in the interior is expected, which, together with thermal instability, will favour the formation of showers and storms that may be occasionally strong.
Civil Protection has warned that for tomorrow showers accompanied by storms are expected in areas of the eastern half. At the moment, four autonomous communities have rain warnings in place: Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia and Valencia. On Thursday, the trough will affect a large part of the mainland and the Balearics and that the humidity from the Mediterranean together with the winds from the Atlantic could cause storms during the afternoon which will extend over a large part of the country, except for the northwest quadrant.
On Friday and Saturday, instability is expected to be concentrated mainly in the northern half of the mainland, although the agency has pointed out that there is great uncertainty about the forecast and has advised the general public to keep informed at all times of the possible evolution of weather changes.
The agency has issued a series of recommendations to the public. Among them, it has asked that if a person has to travel, it has recommended driving preferably on main roads and motorways. If you are driving in the middle of heavy rain, it has recommended to slow down, take extreme precautions and do not stop in areas where large amounts of water may flow.
In addition, in the event of sudden storms and heavy rain, the met. office pointed out that the place where vehicles are parked should be taken into account, as the rapid rise in water levels can damage cars parked on flood plains and wash them away, causing damage to other people’s property and even hindering the natural flow of the stream.
If torrential rain begins to fall the risk of flooding should be borne in mind. For this reason, people should locate the highest points in the area and urged them not to cross flooded stretches with their vehicles or on foot, as they do not know what may be under the water. People should not try to save one’s car in a flood. In addition, if you are in the countryside, you should stay away from rivers, streams and low areas of hillsides and hills, avoid crossing flooded fords, and head for the highest points in the area.
Regarding storms, Civil Protection has indicated that if you are caught in the countryside, you should avoid running and stay in high places, such as the tops of hills, ridges or dividers. It has also recommended not to take shelter under trees and to stay away from wire fences and metal objects.
Although storms are dangerous for people, especially in the open countryside, the met. office pointed out that in urban areas there is also a danger of lightning strikes, so it is advisable to stay close to buildings for protection. In homes, he advised people to avoid draughts and, if they are driving, he pointed out that a closed vehicle could be a good shelter.
