Laurence Dollimore
STORM Aitor is rolling into Spain today with heavy showers, strong winds and sea storms set to affect certain parts of the country.
According to state weather agency Aemet, the storms could see more than 80 litres of rain per square metre fall in just 12 hours.
The first storm of the 2024-2025 season will mostly affect the north and north west of the Peninsula, plus the Balearic Islands.
Several areas of the northwest are on an orange alert today for heavy rainfall and strong winds that could exceed 90km/hr, including Vigo, Pontevedra, A Coruña and Ferrol.
On Wednesday and Thursday, ‘Aitor’ will also bring heavy rain in Galicia, especially in western areas, which will extend to Castile y Leon, Extremadura and western Andalucia.
The rainfall will not affect the Mediterranean coastlines which will instead enjoy higher-than-average temperatures, with highs of up to 35C in Murcia or Alicante.
On Thursday, all the Balearic Islands are on a yellow alert for rough sea conditions, with Aemet predicting winds of 60km/hr and two-metre waves.
At the weekend, storm ‘Aitor’ will retreat but it will leave a cold stream in its wake in the northwest, which will bring a cold air mass that will remain settled in Spain on Saturday and Sunday.
It means while clearer skies are expected over the weekend, temperatures will drop at night, potentially bringing overnight frost to some inland areas.
