EASTER WASHOUT ON THE CARDS
Processions and outdoor events could be hit by inclement weather
THIS image of Benidorm beach (taken on Sunday) could change significantly from today (Thursday)
Alicante and Valencia provinces are set to be hit by five days of rain, according to state weather agency AEMET.
The inclement weather, associated with a cut-off low pressure system (gota fría), is due to start today (Thursday) and continue until Monday.
AEMET warned that rain could be torrential in some areas so extra precaution will be required.
According to Costa meteorologist Pedro Gomez it is not a question of whether it will rain but ‘how heavy it will be and how long it will fall for’.
STATE weather agency AEMET has issued a special bulletin on a period of ‘great atmospheric instability’ on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, which is due to start today (Thursday) and continue until Monday.
They note that this is likely to lead to persistent and ‘occasionally heavy or very heavy rain’ in certain zones of the east and south-east of the country.
“The areas that we expect to be affected by this situation are the Valencia region, Murcia, the eastern part of Castilla-La Mancha, eastern Andalucía and possibly the extreme south of Cataluña,” they explained.
This episode of atmospheric instability will be caused by a large Atlantic storm which will be situated over the centre of the country today and ‘start to move towards the south and south-east during the following days’.
“The position of this depression will favour the entry of winds from the east which will be wet and lead to very heavy downpours in some areas of the eastern half of the country,” they explained.
AEMET meteorologists noted earlier this week that they were not able to pinpoint exactly where these storms would hit at that stage.
This will depend on the ‘precise position of the depression’ as it moves across Spain.
AEMET’s six-day forecast for specific towns shows that the rain is likely to start in south-east Spain this afternoon or evening.
This will be accompanied by strong winds and heavy seas.
The heaviest and most persistent rain is due to fall in the north of Alicante province.
The forecast for Benidorm shows 100% probability of rain tomorrow (Friday) and on Sunday and Monday, with 95% on Saturday. The situation is even more extreme for inland villages such as Confrides in the Guadalest Valley, where rain is set to be more persistent.
In the south of the province, they give 100% probability of rain in Torrevieja on Friday and 95% on Saturday and Sunday.
This will be accompanied by high winds from the north-east on Saturday, which are forecast at an average speed of 45km/h, with gusts that will be much stronger.
The forecast for San Pedro del Pinatar is almost identical to that of Torrevieja.
Samuel Biener from Alicante university climatology lab said they are expecting the ‘most complicated situation’ to start on Friday evening and last until Sunday.
During this period Alicante province will be ‘in the most unstable area’, which will coincide with very strong winds off the sea.
Updates on this evolving situation will be published on the Costa Blanca News Facebook page.