Images of Storm Kirk arriving in Spain. (Aemet)
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a special warning this Monday afternoon due to the consequences that the arrival of Hurricane Kirk may have on the Iberian Peninsula, with strong winds, rain and waves in different areas of the national territory until early morning of next Thursday, October 10.
The Aemet has reported that the arrival of the hurricane, now with a much lower intensity, has been expected for this Tuesday the 8th. “It will move quickly towards the east, passing its center near the Galician coast and the Cantabrian Sea,” something whose effects will continue to be seen on Wednesday.
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The Agency has reported that, as a consequence, there will be “a strong Atlantic storm on the Galician and Cantabrian coasts and very strong gusts of wind in a good part of the Peninsula, including hurricanes locally, and widespread rainfall on the Atlantic and Cantabrian slopes.”
However, the Agency has recommended that the updates that are made with these predictions be carefully followed, due to the uncertainty that always surrounds this type of phenomena, although it was estimated days ago – and this has been confirmed during this late – that the hurricane would lose intensity before reaching Europe given its route through cold waters, which would turn it into an extra-tropical Atlantic storm.
“South-southwest winds are expected to begin to pick up from Tuesday afternoon.” The areas affected by these gusts would be the Galician coasts, the Cantabrian mountain range and the north of the Iberian system. “Precipitation will spread across the northwestern third of the peninsula, and is likely to be locally strong and persistent in western Galicia.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday, a strong storm is expected on the Galician Atlantic coasts, with intense winds and “combined seas from the west with waves of 6 or 7 meters of significant height.” Something that will extend until reaching Cantabria, where the waves will reach five meters. “The very strong gusts, from the south and southwest, will extend over a good part of the Peninsula, except for the Ebro valley, southwest of the peninsula and eastern coasts,” reaching winds of 100 kilometers per hour and even 120 in the areas higher. “Precipitation will extend over a good part of the Peninsula, less likely in its eastern end and more intense and persistent in western Galicia and the western Central system.”
The storm will move away on Thursday, when a rapid decrease in the wind is expected after dawn, in the same way that precipitation ceases throughout the day. “Despite this, the quantities accumulated in the episode in the western part of Galicia may be significant, and will be added to those already fallen in previous episodes, so caution is recommended in the event of possible river flooding and slope landslides.”
Effects of Borrasca Ciarán in Pontevedra. (Video: Beni Guimerans, from Pontevedra)
