Date Published: 27/03/2020
ARCHIVED - More rain on the way to follow the historic storm on Tuesday in Murcia
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
March rainfall records under threat in Murcia as the grim weather continues
The heavy storm which caused flooding in parts of the Region of Murcia on Tuesday of this week has been described by Ametse (the meteorological association of the sough-east of Spain) as “historic” after numerous locations in and around Cartagena recorded well over 100 millimetres of rain in under 24 hours.
In terms of the amount of rain which fell the most recent of the four destructive storms to have hit Murcia since September was nowhere being the most severe among them, but in general such episodes tend to occur in this part of Spain in autumn rather than in the spring. For this reason the continuous heavy rain which affected Murcia and the south of the province of Alicante was very unusual, and the totals recorded reached 177 millimetres in the Rambla de Benipila (the floodwater channel which runs through the city of Cartagena), 155mm nearby in Canteras and 122 mm in El Algar, and close to 100 mm in La Azohía.
Further inland, the amount of rain in the mountains of Sierra de Carrascoy almost doubled the previous record for any day in March of 49 mm (dating from 1989), and as a result of the storm it is likely that new March records will be set in many parts of the Region.
Neither, it should be said, is the month over yet.
The forecast for the coming weekend is for more rain throughout Murcia, low temperatures and even snow in the north-west of the Region, where a yellow alert is in place for falls of 4 centimetres between Friday evening and Saturday morning. Worryingly, there is also a chance of another heavy storm building up on Monday or Tuesday, although the situation for the first couple of days is currently very uncertain apart from the fact that the weather will be very unsettled in most of Spain.
It has been said before, but it’s worth repeating: if ever a spell of prolonged bad weather in the Costa Cálida was to be welcomed, it is now during the coronavirus emergency lockdown. Normally at this time of year residents and visitors might be expecting to enjoy barbecues and visits to the beach, but in cold, wet conditions the orders to remain at home somehow becomes far easier to obey!
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/.