Date Published: 05/09/2020
ARCHIVED - Aemet warns of Gota Fría conditions over parts of Spain on Monday
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Murcia, Almeria and the lower reaches of the Valencia Region may be put on alert and are expected to see some rain in the early part of next week, but at the moment Catalonia and the Balearic Islands are the only areas on alert
It’s storm season and at this time of year the phenomena known as DANA in Spanish can occur, bringing highly localised and torrential downpours.
Residents of Murcia and the Alicante Province will recall the terrible Gota Fría which hit Murcia and Alicante almost a year ago, although it must be stressed that AT THE MOMENT Aemet is not expecting either Murcia or Alicante to see anything like the rain experienced a year ago. Click to see info and pictures about what did happen a year ago.
Aemet has issued a warning that one of these weather systems is expected to form up over the Mediterranean between the Balearic Islands and the Spanish peninsula on Monday 7th September and remain in the area until around Wednesday 9th.
The cold air in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere, together with the temperature and the high humidity content of the Mediterranean air at this time of year, will give rise to a situation of notable instability,” Aemet warns, in other words, the conditions are perfect for the so-called Gota Fría downpours which are typically associated with the word DANA. Click for what is a Gota Fría.
"With the uncertainty that characterizes these situations in terms of the exact location of the highest rainfall and most intense storms, today it is highly probable that heavy or very heavy rainfall will occur in the Balearic archipelago, persistent in some areas, and accompanied by storms. It is also likely that these intensities will occur in areas of Catalonia, where rainfall will begin tomorrow, Sunday, and of the Valencian Community.
It is not ruled out that other provinces in the southeast of the peninsula will also be affected to a lesser extent ", they say.
By this, they mean the lower reaches of the Valencia Region, which is Alicante province, the Region of Murcia, Almería and the lower reaches of Castilla La Mancha (Albacete Province).
As of Thursday, within a margin of uncertainty regarding the evolution of this meteorological situation, it is likely that the DANA will begin a shift to the east, AEMET predicts, tending to decrease and finally disappear.
At the moment, the storm warnings for Monday only show alerts in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, although as long-term residents know all too well, the situation is highly volatile with this type of weather phenomena and it is notoriously difficult to predict where the rainfall will be heaviest.
At the moment there are no alerts for the Murcia Region and Aemet is not currently predicting any particularly heavy downpours for the region, although social media will doubtless go into overdrive when the free papers start issuing scaremongering headlines screaming disaster.
Join the Murcia Weather Watch group on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest forecasts and weather related stories: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RegionOfMurciaWeatherWatch/.