Most affected regions: Rain and strong wind
The most vulnerable areas include the coastline of Valencia, Alicante, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, where more than 100,000 people are expected to accumulate 100 mm of rain in some places, with peaks that could exceed 180 mm in the most affected areas, such as the south of Valencia and the province of Malaga. These episodes of intense rain will considerably increase the flood risk in urbanizations, roads and rivers. In the Balearic Islands, both Pitiusas and Mallorca will suffer the impact of the DANA, where it is expected that some 80 mm in just 24 hours.
Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 November are expected to be the days with the highest incidence of torrential rains. The Mediterranean coast will be the epicentre of the storm, with orange alerts activated in a good part of the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. In addition, the wind will also complicate the situation, since it is expected very strong gusts in maritime and mountainous areas, with particular intensity in the Empordà (Girona), the Balearic Islands and mountainous areas of the Cantabrian Sea.
Snow in mountainous areas and general drop in temperatures
Another of the outstanding elements of this new DANA will be the drastic drop in temperatures, especially in the interior of the peninsula. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, the minimum temperatures will drop to 100 °C. 6 degrees in some Andalusian provinces, as in Granada and Jaén, and the maximum temperatures will not exceed 15 degrees in many areas. In the mountainous areas, the rains will turn into snow when the altitude drops to 1.000 metres, mainly affecting the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian mountain range and other mountain ranges in the east of the peninsula.
The temperature drop will also affect the Valencian Community, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, regions where cold and wind alerts have been activated, accompanied by possible snowfall at high altitudes, especially in the mountain systems of the northern peninsula, where up to 10 cm of snow or more is expected to accumulate.
Maritime storms and possible flooding
The maritime storm will be another of the great protagonists of this week, with storm surges and waves up to 3 meters high on the Mediterranean coast. In the Balearic Islands and the Castellón coast, the yellow alert for coastal phenomena will remain in effect. Aemet warns of dangerous conditions for navigation and maritime activities in these areas, due to the strong waves and strong gusts of wind that will hit the Mediterranean. The most serious situations are expected in the entire coastal strip between the Ebro Delta and Cabo de la Nao. In addition, the areas of Malaga, Alicante, Castellon and Tarragona could face significant flooding problems in low-lying areas with poor drainage capacity.
Impact extended until the weekend
Aemet indicates that the precipitation and the effects of the DANA will remain active at least until Saturday, November 16. Although some areas could see a slight improvement by the weekend, heavy and persistent rain will continue to occur in much of Andalusia, the centre of the peninsula and the Atlantic side. It is also expected that the rainfall in the Valencian Community will begin to lose some intensity from Friday, moving to the Atlantic slope and to areas of Ampurdán (Girona).
The Aemet has highlighted that there is a wide uncertainty on the evolution of this DANA, which means that the forecasts could vary in the next few hours. Because of this, it urges the population to stay informed through its official channels, in addition to taking extreme precautions on the most critical days such as Wednesday and Thursday, when the highest probability of torrential rain, strong winds and temperature drops is expected.
This new meteorological episode stands out for the power of the rain front that will hit not only the Mediterranean coast, but will also affect other regions of the peninsula, causing Heavy rain, risk of flooding and snow in mountainous areas. Local authorities have already started to activate emergency plans to mitigate the possible effects in the most vulnerable areas and recommend avoiding any unnecessary travel.