The cold trough that has evolved into a DANA – an isolated depression at high levels – and that is crossing the peninsula this Wednesday will cause a sharp drop in temperatures in an almost generalised way, and will leave showers and storms that are locally strong, occasionally accompanied by hail, accumulations of water and strong winds, especially in the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean areas.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a special warning for strong instability that will be at red level and will remain in effect today and tomorrow in the Balearic Islands, where winds of 100 kilometres per hour are being recorded on Wednesday in Mallorca, posing a significant risk to people and property exposed to the phenomena.
Aemet warns that the uncertainty inherent in this type of phenomenon makes it very difficult to determine the areas of greatest impact, since slight changes in the position of the DANA can change the intensity and geographical distribution of the phenomena associated with it.
The 112 Emergency Service has attended 140 incidents related to the storm that has passed through the Balearic Islands on Wednesday, mainly due to fallen trees, drifting boats and a lost fisherman finally found in the waters of Formentera. According to the Balearic Government, by island, 98 incidents have been recorded in Mallorca, 20 in Formentera, 18 in Ibiza and 4 in Menorca, and the most affected towns have been Palma (35), Formentera (20), Calvià (17), Sant Josep de sa Talaia (13), Manacor (8), Felanitx (7), Sóller (4), Llubí (3), Andratx (3), Inca (3) and Marratxí (3).
By type, most of the incidents have been due to falling trees (44), boats adrift (15), detachment of urban elements (13), accumulation of water on the road (7), flooding of premises (6), people in danger at sea (6), flooding of public roads (4), forest fires (3), among others.
Special notice in Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia
The special warning for adverse phenomena also affects the communities of Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia, and has been deactivated for the border areas of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia, according to the latest warning from the agency. In relation to rainfall, the Aemet station in Logroño-airport recorded this Tuesday, August 13, the rainiest day in a month of August, with 43.3 liters per square meter in one day, compared to the 30.9 recorded in 2023. As for temperatures, yesterday the maximums registered significant drops in the northern half and the valleys of the Guadiana and the Tajo.
Only the Aemet observatory in Rincón de la Victoria (Málaga) exceeded 40 degrees with 41.3 due to onshore winds, and values above 39 ºC were reached in Vélez Málaga, Tejeda (Las Palmas) and Algarrobo (Málaga).
According to Aemet spokesman José Luis Camacho, this Wednesday there are orange level warnings for storms in the south of the province of Valencia, Alicante, almost all of Murcia and the eastern part of Almería; and orange level warnings for accumulation of water in one hour in the entire province of Barcelona, Girona, except for Ampurdán and the northern coast and pre-coastal area of Tarragona, as well as in almost all of Murcia, except for the northwest and in the eastern part of Almería.
