Surely you have heard the term of cold drop when these times come. And it is a meteorological phenomenon that usually occurs almost every year. The reason why this phenomenon is widely talked about is because it involves heavy rains, usually very violent, which give rise to large gusts of wind and even small hurricanes.
Do you want to know what cold blob is and what is its formation? Keep reading because in this post we tell you everything.
Extreme weather phenomenon
The cold drop has been registered almost every year at this time. It draws a lot of attention since its violence is extreme. Among the records, records of accumulated rainfall have been overcome in just one hour. These are really extreme episodes that can cause extensive damage and destruction in cities. As a consequence, many cities are without electricity supplies and infrastructure is giving way.
This cold drop belongs to the characteristics of our Mediterranean climate in which they are registered rainfall Not as abundant and concentrated in winter. Generally, most precipitation tends to be torrential and accompanied by numerous damages. The heavy rains of this phenomenon are also responsible for major flooding in many regions.
When recording rainfall It does not mean that these violent rains make the average annual rainfall increase greatlyInstead, they are concentrated in a short period. Not all places in Spain have the same levels of rainfall, but rather they are concentrated in a small space. It may be that in one town most of the rains are unleashed, while in the neighboring town we only have mild rains.
As we have mentioned before, It is not the first time that you have suffered from cold drop starring violent rains, but they occur after the summer due to the interaction of large air masses. The images that these extreme episodes leave us are really spectacular and generate destruction with enormous economic costs.
How the cold drop is formed
But we are constantly talking about the magnitude of these rains and the consequences it has and we do not talk about how it is formed. What is it that triggers such a situation? Well, according to the State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, marks the origin of this phenomenon in a great depression in height of the pressures where in the central part is the coldest air.
This is a fairly high air mass (about 5.000 meters high) that significantly lowers its pressure relative to the surrounding air. This high-altitude depression has a center of cold air and creates storm clouds that unleash apocalyptic levels of precipitation. When we talk about this type of phenomenon, we are describing the enormous air masses that come from thousands of kilometers away, from which they are capable of traveling.
This disturbance and enormous drop in pressure has no immediate effect or impact on the Earth's surface. That is, we don't notice it directly at our level. However, measurement experiments have shown that the cold drop is always reflected at low levels. The most common indicators are wind, rain, and sudden changes in temperature or even pressure. Thanks to this, the cold drop can be detected in time to prevent its consequences.
People often confuse the cold drop with those rains that come with a cold wind. It is true that this type of rain is usually a consequence of "goba fría" (cold drop). However, they are not synonymous. "Groba fría" (cold drop) is the weather that occurs as a result of the characteristics of the Mediterranean climate and the depression at altitude caused by the different air masses. Therefore, it is important to understand "goba fría" (cold drop) in the context of extreme weather phenomena, as explained in articles on extreme weather events.
Key features
The main characteristic of the cold drop is that of having great precipitations that fall in just a few minutes and in a very specific place. When it rains in such a strong way in such a short time, if the place where it falls is in a city or town, in general, the infrastructures are not prepared to withstand and channel so much runoff water. As a result, the consequences are disastrous, causing serious material damage and even claiming lives.
Imagine you're in a car and the floodwaters end up hitting it and dragging it away with incredible force. It's impossible to escape this situation without outside help. This heavy rain and storm aren't the cold drop itself, but rather the phenomena associated with it. The relationship between the cold drop and the floods It is crucial to understand their impact, especially when related to other conditions, such as DANA.
According to the AEMET, the cold drop is used to refer colloquially to the phenomena of intense, damaging and catastrophic rains that lead to highly dangerous meteorological situations. The problem is that this concept is wrong. For this reason, the AEMET is ceasing to use this term, which leads to confusion. The cold drop as a concept brings together many elements that are not precise.
This is a catch-all term used to describe phenomena in a straightforward manner. Instead of using this term, the more correct term would be intense storms and persistent rain, as these can occur without the presence of a cold drop. A cold drop refers exclusively to a low-altitude depression. However, intense and destructive storms can occur without necessarily having a low-altitude depression. Similarly, extreme weather phenomena require a clearer understanding for their correct identification.
Consequences
As a result of the meteorological phenomena of intense and extreme rains, the affected cities and towns are flooded, from roads, vehicles to houses and basements. Many towns they are left without electricity or water supply. Depending on their size and flow, rivers eventually overflow their banks. Authorities must be prepared to manage these emergency situations efficiently, as mentioned in some studies. floods.
Cold drop in some provinces
The cold drop does not affect all places in Spain equally. We are going to talk about some provinces where it affects the most.
- The cold drop in Valencia It has caused numerous floods, power outages, and rivers overflowing, leaving more than 40.000 students without school.
- The cold drop in Castellón It left a record rainfall of 159 liters of water per square meter in one hour. Firefighters had to intervene to save lives, and garbage containers were swept away by the force of the water.
- The cold drop in Alicante it also causes serious damage in this province. However, in this case he has had more luck training in Gibraltar. As mentioned in the DANA article, the most common is that it is formed in a west-east orientation.
- The cold drop in Barcelona last month it affected by delaying the train schedules. This causes serious problems in the work of thousands of people in addition to damaged infrastructure. Up to 235 liters per square meter per hour fell.