More than 20 provinces of Spain issued yellow or orange weather alerts as Storm Bernard enters the country

More than 20 provinces in eleven autonomous communities across Spain have been issued with either orange or yellow weather alerts.

According to the forecast this Sunday, October 22, from AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency, these warnings are for strong winds, rain, and high waves in coastal areas as the country braces for the crossing of Storm Bernard this evening.

After travelling across Portugal earlier today, where it deposited heavy rain in many districts, the Atlantic storm was expected to enter Spain from the southwest.

As a result, Cádiz and Huelva have been placed on orange alert due to wind, with both regions also at significant risk due to coastal phenomena.

During Sunday afternoon, Storm Bernard has already deposited very intense rainfall and strong gusts of wind in the southwest of the peninsula.

Secuencia de imágenes de satélite de las últimas horas, en la que se observa la llegada de la #BorrascaBernard al golfo de Cádiz acompañada de fuertes tormentas.
Durante la tarde ha dejado precipitaciones muy intensas y rachas muy fuertes de viento en el suroeste peninsular. pic.twitter.com/6L3vFd7hwM

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) October 22, 2023

Yellow alerts for strong gusts of wind have been issued

Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, Málaga, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Mallorca, Ávila, Burgos, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo, Badajoz, Cáceres, Navarra, Álava and Madrid have all been issued a yellow warning for strong gusts of wind.

A yellow alert for high waves has also been issued in Malaga, Cantabria, Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya on the mainland, while a similar warning applies to the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Las Palmas, La Gomera, and El Hierro also have yellow alerts, along with the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The island of La Palma will be at orange risk for this same phenomenon.

Yellow warnings for rain are active in Ávila, Salamanca, Badajoz, Cáceres, Huelva and Madrid. Abundant cloudiness is expected on the Atlantic coast, the Strait and the Mediterranean region of Andalucia, a situation that will spread towards the northeast as the day continues.

Tiempo previsto en Península y Baleares desde 22-10-2023 hasta 28-10-2023. Info siempre actualizada en https://t.co/keCWfwv3Ua pic.twitter.com/EzsTCljA3b

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) October 22, 2023

The western third of Spain could see heavy rainfall

Rainfall is expected to be abundant in the western third of the country according to the experts. Occasional storms could occur in central parts of the country as well as in the west of Extremadura and Andalucia. In general, the rain will be less intense further to the north and east.

Snow is expected to fall at around 1,700 metres in the Pyrenees and at 2,000 metres in the rest of the mountainous regions but with a tendency to rise to very high levels.

Minimum temperatures are predicted to increase in the southwestern third of the mainland with maximum temperatures also rising, except in the eastern end of the northern plateau and Extremadura.

Weak frosts are forecast in the Pyrenees that are not ruled out in isolation in the rest of the mountain systems of the northern half of the country.