Laurence Dollimore
HURRICANE force winds are battering parts of Spain today as the worst of Storm Kirk arrives to the Iberian Peninsula.
State weather agency Aemet has upgraded many of its warnings and has even placed parts of the north on a red alert, meaning there is an ‘extreme risk to life’.
READ MORE: Flight chaos in Spain as Storm Kirk forces mass cancellations and diversions
The south of Oviedo and Gijon are facing the maximum warning due to winds exceeding 140km/hr.
But according to reports, gusts of more than 160km/hr have already been recorded in the north, including in the Basque Country.
Meanwhile, most of the northwest is on an orange alert for similar conditions, including A Coruña, Lugo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, Ourense, Leon, Bilbao, Burgos, Valladolid, Palencia, Zamora, and Salamanca.
The majority of the country is also under a yellow alert for winds and rain, including Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which face gusts of 70km/hr and 60km/hr respectively.
Joining them are; Segovia, Avila, Cuenca, Teruel, Albacete, Toledo, Caceres, Avila, Talavera de la Reina, Plasencia, Catalayud and parts of the northern Valencia coastline.
Andalucia will be met with strong winds and rain but only the coasts of Granada and Almeria have weather warnigns for four-metre waves and 60km/hr winds.
It comes as multiple flights in Spain have been cancelled or forced to divert today due to hurricane force winds battering the country.
This morning has seen at least four flights unable to land at Bilbao airport due to winds of up to 164km/hr.
Meanwhile, a further six flights to Bilbao have been cancelled, including one from London, two from Santiago de Compostela and three from Barcelona.
Spanish airport authority Aena said an 8.05am flight from Alicante to Bilbao had to return after aborting its landing, as did another 8.15am flight from Barcelona.
A third flight from Malaga was forced to land in Asturias and a fourth from Madrid had to turn back around and return to Barajas airport.
Up until 9.25am, just one flight from Vienna managed to land at Bilbao airport.
The authorities have advised residents to avoid unnecessary journeys and to take extreme precautions, especially on roads, where the wind can create dangerous situations.
It comes as falling branches and other minor incidents have already been reported.
The situation is being closely monitored by the emergency services, who have been placed on alert.
