Weather bomb puts 33 Spanish provinces on alert

A total of 33 provinces are on alert today (Wednesday 16) for rain, wind and waves with heavy storms hitting the northern area of Spain.

Cantabria, Burgos, Leon, Palencia, Salamanca, Soria, Valladolid, Zamora, Navarra, La Coruña, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra, La Rioja and Asturias were all placed on orange alert (important risk) after the first explosive cyclogenesis (also known as a weather bomb) of the season hit the country on Tuesday.

Yellow alerts (risk) have also been announced in Almeria, Huesca, Zaragoza, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo, Avila, Segovia, Gerona, Lerida, Madrid, Badajoz, Caceres, Alava, Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa for strong winds and in Avila, Leon, Palencia, Salamanca, Zamora, Caceres, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra and Asturias for heavy rain.

Almeria, Granada, Cantabria, Gerona, Pontevedra, Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa and Murcia are also under yellow alert for waves and difficult sea conditions.

The AEMET State Weather Agency sent out special warnings regarding the storms, expected to hit the northwest of Spain particularly hard.

In Galicia, the weather bomb was reported to have blown down trees and damaged urban fittings on Tuesday with wind speeds of more than 130 kilometres per hour and up to 110 litres of rainfall per square metre registered, leading the Xunta regional government to cancel outdoor activities at schools as a precaution.

AEMET spokesman Angel Alcazar explained that the storm had formed extremely quickly, but would also pass over the country quickly although it would make its mark on the way. Explosive cyclogeneses, Alcazar said, are uncommon in September although they are far from new.