By Tara Rippin • Published: 19 Mar 2020 • 9:29
WARM WINTER: Perfect beach temperatures were recorded in Alicante. CREDIT: Flickr.com
ALICANTE recorded the warmest and wettest winter of the 21st Century, according to the State Meterological Agency.
Figures confirm it was also the third warmest and third wettest winter period since 1950,
December, January and February were warm and humid in the province, with the average temperature two degrees higher than normal, and the average precipitation 262 litres m2, double the climatic average for 1981-2010.
No ‘cold snap’ was recorded, and the only brief cold episode was registered on January 20 and 21 during the storms.
In fact, four notable warm spells were reported.
The warmest days were December 21 and February 3 and 4, with temperatures reaching 28.9 degrees Celsius.
There were two characteristic humid episodes between December 2 and 5, and during storm Gloria from January 19 to 22, when many areas were hit by rain, snow and hail.
The most significant aspect of Gloria was the storm at sea which devastated many coastlines. Waves of 8.44 metres were recorded at the Puertos de Estado buoy at Valencia, notably higher than the previous record of 6.45 metres in 2017.
In terms of precipitation, Alicante observatories registered an accumulation in excess of 500 litres m2 – such as l’Orxa (779.5), Vall de Gallinera (586.8), Gaianes (570.2), Almudaina (552.2) or Orba (532.2).
At the other extreme, observatories in southern Alicante such as Rafal, Rojales, Elda, Petrer, Alicante, Novelda, Guardamar del Segura or Almoradí, recorded precipitation levels of less than 100 litres m2.
The war atmosphere has continued into March with temperatures 3.2 degrees Celsius above the average for the same period in 2001.
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Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region. She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990. Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.
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