Biblical Storms Hit Favourite Expat Destinations In Spain

The Spanish government issued a red alert warning yesterday afternoon as deadly weather phenomena returned to the Balearics and Mallorca.

The two affected regions were hit hard again last night by monstrous storms, massive hailstones, tornados and heavy rainfall, with the worst-hit areas to the north and north-east of Mallorca and in the Tramontana mountains. Palma, Calvia and Andratx bore the brunt of the violent weather, with the southern part of the island also hard hit. Three tornadoes formed offshore from Santa Ponsa, but dispersed before they could make landfall, much to the relief of expats as well as local residents.

Rainfall accumulating some 180 litres per square metre every hour is expected to follow the night’s foul weather and is predicted to continue until Wednesday afternoon. Ibiza and Formentera are now on yellow alert for heavy rainfall and strong winds, with the rest of the island chain on orange alert. Following on last month’s violent storms, expats in the affected areas are battening down the hatches and hoping for the best, whilst schools in affected areas are now shut down.

Citizens and expats were warned last week about the likelihood of even more severe storms related to an ‘isolated depression at high attitude’ – known as a ‘gota fria’ in Spanish – a cold polar air front advancing across Western Europe and expected to stay in place until at least Friday. English language media outlets are referring to this year’s ‘gota fria’ as being of ‘biblical proportions’, a description which expats might well confirm as correct.