John Culatto
MORE heavy rain is on its way to Gibraltar and south Spain Friday evening, posing a risk of flooding as it continues all night until Saturday morning.
Gibraltar’s weather experts raised the warning for 20-25mm of rain during a six-hour period throughout Friday night, raising fears of similar chaotic flooding to the week before.
Central streets and even the ground floor of the ICC shopping centre got flooded with the same sort of forecast last week, forcing residents to get ready for the worst.
The recent rains over the last week broke ended a winter drought that has stopped significant rainfall since December.
“The UK Met Office forecast to late Sunday, as MeteoGib has been flagging up the last few days, showers should begin moving up from Morocco from later this evening onwards, turning heavy at times overnight and into Saturday morning with a risk of thundery downpours,” MeteoGib said on Twitter.
“Travel conditions may become poor at times, and any thundery downpours we catch could bring a risk of flash flooding,” the local met office added.
The government warning said a low pressure weather system was ‘pushing north from Morocco’ leading to the latest poor weather.
It said the ‘heavy and thundery downpours’ could ‘bring a risk of local flash flooding’.
“Strong and very gusty winds may accompany thunderstorms,” the government statement read.
Gibraltar’s government warned drivers and pedestrians about moving around on the road.
“Travel conditions will become difficult at times with standing water on the roads and a risk of local flooding in prone areas,” the statement added.
On average, Gibraltar experiences relatively low rainfall at this time of the year.
Based on historical weather data, Gibraltar gets an average of around 15-20 millimeters (0.6-0.8 inches) of rain during the month of May.
The latest downpour has already shattered that May average on its own.
Similar rainfall will hit nearby Andalucia, helping to fill depleted reservoirs and dried up farmland.
READ MORE:
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- Torrential rain and gale force winds start to subside in Gibraltar as storm dissipates
- WATCH: Lightning strikes remote Cadiz mountain village as extreme wind and rain lashes Gibraltar
