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Orange Alert Issued In Navarra Where More Than 20,000 Lightning Bolts Were Registered

By Chris King • Updated: 02 Sep 2023 • 21:06

Image of a sign warning of bad weather.

Image of a sign warning of bad weather.  Credit: Serget Nivens/Shutterstock.com

THE isolated depression at high levels (DANA) that entered Spain late on Friday, September 1, brought heavy rain and flooding to several parts of the country.

These included the Madrid municipality of Arganda del Rey where the heavens reportedly opened up at around 10 pm. A torrential downpour caused flooding in the town centre, where the bullring installed in the Plaza de la Constitución for the start of the patron saint’s fiestas, and even some homes, were affected.

As a consequence of the storm, the local authorities delayed the start of the first bull run scheduled for the fiestas until 11 am this morning.

Incidents were also reported at the Arganda fairgrounds where the strong winds caused a tree to fall and subsequently knock down several lampposts and some of the stalls that had been erected in preparation for the celebrations.

Various images and videos of the chaos caused by the bad weather were uploaded on social media. One video, posted by MeteoMadrid showed last night’s weather conditions.

Other video footage published on @OtraArgandaes showed what the town looked like in daylight.

In Navarra, an orange alert (significant risk) was issued until midnight last night. According to AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency, more than 20,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Foral Community and its bordering areas, accompanied by torrential rain, a new record.

The weather experts explained that around 3,40000 lightning bolts hit the ground with between 40 and 66 l/m² of rain being registered in just over two hours in some stations.

This resulted in the Municipal Police having to be deployed to cut traffic off in several streets in the districts of La Milagrosa, Mendebaldea, and Rochapea.

As a preventive measure, the special emergency plan for floods in Navarra, in the Pre-Emergency Phase, was activated by the Civil Protection Service of the Provincial Government.

Heavy rain and storms, especially strong in some areas, started at around 6 pm, leading to an orange alert being issued in the Pyrenees and a yellow warning on the Cantabrian coast.

Yellow or orange alerts are in force for all of Spain, except the Canaries

As reported by the AEMET, with the exception of the Canary Islands, all of Spain’s autonomous communities are on either yellow or orange alerts this Saturday.

Specifically, in Andalucia, Almería will be at risk from rain and storms, as will Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, in Aragon. Asturias, Cantabria, Madrid, Murcia, and the City of Melilla are also at risk.

The Balearic Islands have been placed under an orange warning for rain and storms. Burgos and Soria in Castilla y León also have warnings, with Ávila and Segovia on a yellow notice for the same reason.

In Castilla-La Mancha, a yellow warning for rain and storms has been issued in the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo. Catalonia, Barcelona and Tarragona are on orange notice and Lérida is on yellow.

Cáceres and Badajoz in Extremadura will also be at risk, while rain will put Lugo and Orense at risk in Galicia.

One of our readers in Galicia told EWN: ‘As a relative newcomer to Spain I find the change of seasons much more clearly defined than in the UK. With the start of September, it was as if someone flicked a switch and it was instantly autumn. The rain was a welcome relief, hopefully, my lawn will start to go green again’.

Rain and storms will affect many parts

Navarra and La Rioja will also be at significant risk from rains and storms, as well as Álava, Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya, in the Basque Country. Castellón and Valencia in the Valencian Community are also on notice, where the province of Alicante will be at risk from both phenomena.

Today’s DANA will cause a situation of instability, with a predominance of cloudy or overcast skies and abundant rainfall with storms, which will occur almost universally across the country. These are expected to be more intense and abundant in the northeastern half of the peninsula and central areas.

They can become strong and/or persistent, with greater probability, in a wide area from the Basque Country and Navarra, passing through Aragon, east of the North Plateau and north of the South Plateau, to Catalonia and the Valencian Community as well as in Melilla, the southeast coast and the west of the Balearic Islands.

An accurate forecast has not been possible with the DANA

Due to the uncertainty of the situation, the AEMET has not been able to identify these areas more accurately. However, it expects them to be less intense in Andalucia and the extreme west of the country. In the Canary Islands, there will be cloudy intervals.

Haze is not ruled out in the Balearic Islands, where the rain could be accompanied by mud. Morning fog banks are expected in inland areas of the northern and eastern thirds of the peninsula.

Minimum temperatures will increase in the extreme north and decrease in the centre and south, as well as in the west of the Balearic Islands, without major changes in the rest.

The maximums will experience a general decrease across the mainland, which will become notable in large inland areas. No major changes will be evident in the islands and western Galicia.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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