Heavy rains and storm winds to hit Spain this weekend. Spain faces rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds due to an Atlantic storm. Temperatures will drop below average. Warnings have been issued for several regions, including Madrid, Andalusia, and Valencia.
Spain is preparing for severe weather: heavy rains, thunderstorms, and gusty winds are expected across the country this weekend. An Atlantic storm approaching the Iberian Peninsula has already brought instability to northern regions today, Friday, and by Saturday will cover almost the entire territory. According to ElTiempo.es, the weather will be accompanied by a noticeable drop in temperatures, especially during the daytime.
Storm warning
From Friday into Saturday, a front will move through the western regions, bringing heavy rainfall to the southwestern areas of Castile and León, Extremadura, and western Andalusia—primarily the provinces of Huelva and Cádiz. At the same time, a line of thunderstorms will form in eastern Andalusia, Murcia, and the south of the Valencian Community, spreading in the morning to Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid, Galicia, and the rest of Castile and León. By midday, rain and thunderstorms will reach Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Catalonia, partially affecting Aragon. Throughout the day, the heaviest downpours are expected in Galicia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia.
Wind and temperature anomalies
Overnight into Sunday, precipitation will persist in western Andalusia, Extremadura, western Castile and León, and the Tagus basin. By morning, a new wave of instability will move across the country, bringing rain to the central and northwestern regions. On Sunday, new thunderstorms are expected, especially in the northwest, but by evening the intensity of precipitation will decrease. Winds will strengthen to 60–80 km/h in Huelva, Cádiz, Seville, Córdoba, Badajoz, and Cáceres, with even stronger gusts possible in mountainous areas. By the end of the weekend, the strong wind zone will shift toward the center of the country.
Official warnings
Due to worsening weather conditions, meteorological services have issued a yellow alert for several regions. On Friday, warnings are in effect for the northern part of Castile and León, Asturias, Cantabria, parts of the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, western Aragon, as well as Madrid and Guadalajara. The reason is the risk of strong wind, hail, and rainfall of 15–20 mm per hour. On Saturday, the warning area will expand: in the east, it will cover Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Castellón, and Tarragona; in the southwest, all of Huelva, part of Seville, and the coast of Cádiz. Additionally, a yellow alert has been declared for northern Cáceres and Toledo, the south of Salamanca and Ávila, as well as Madrid, northern Castile and León, Cantabria, inland Asturias, and the south and west of Galicia. In the coming hours, the list of warning zones may be expanded, and in some cases the alert level could be raised to orange.
Context and comparison
Weather-related risks in May are not uncommon for Spain: earlier this month, meteorologists have already recorded periods of instability and heavy rainfall. As noted by ElTiempo.es, the current situation stands out due to its scale and the combination of several hazardous factors—downpours, thunderstorms, and strong winds. For comparison, in mid-May the country also faced similar weather phenomena, with heavy rains and increasing winds reported in the northern and eastern regions. More details on how unstable weather affected different regions of Spain last year can be found in the article about the previous period of severe thunderstorms and downpours..
