WEATHER: High alert for Alicante and Murcia

THE AEMET State Meteorology Agency has issued a maximum level red weather warning for Alicante and Murcia for Thursday and an orange alert for the Levante, Tabernas, Almanzora Valley and Velez regions of Almeria.

The red alert for northern Alicante is set for midnight tonight until midday on Wednesday. Further south the red alert is timetabled for 24 hours beginning at 6am on Thursday.

AEMET cautions the “very adverse” weather conditions could produce storms which dump as much as 90 litres of rain per square metre in just one hour and up to 180 litres over 12 hours.

The wild weather has been hammering the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and parts of the Valencia region since Monday night.

Mallorca has been one of the worst hit parts of the country by the cold snap in the last few days. Torrential downpours and violent winds have battered the island, leading to flooding and forcing the suspension of the return to school for the autumn term.

Today Wednesday Murcia and Almeria province are already experiencing high winds, rain and high seas, and temperatures have plummeted, but the weather is predicted to get significantly worse tomorrow.