Canary Islands: orange rain warning on five islands on Sunday

The Spanish Meteorological Agency AEMET has issued an orange alert for rain on Sunday on La Palma, Tenerife, El Hierro, La Gomera and Gran Canaria, meaning several Canary Islands are affected. La Palma will be hit particularly early, as the orange alert there comes into effect as early as 9 pm on Saturday. The authorities are forecasting up to 30 millimetres in one hour and up to 100 millimetres within twelve hours. For all warnings over the weekend, they put the probability at between 40 and 70 per cent.

On La Palma, the warning level is rising day by day. Until 14.59 on Friday, a yellow alert is in place, with up to 15 millimetres of rain per hour, particularly in the south and west of the island. From 6.00 pm on Saturday, a rough seas warning will also be in place for the west coast, where winds from the south to south-west will blow at 50 to 61 kilometres per hour, corresponding to wind force 7. The winds will be strongest in the north-west, and the warning will remain in force until 3.59 am on Sunday. From 9.00 pm on Saturday, a yellow thunderstorm warning will be added to the orange rain alert.

An orange alert is in force on Tenerife, El Hierro and La Gomera on Sunday from 00:00 to 17:59. The Met Office forecasts up to 25 millimetres of rain in one hour in these areas, and – as on La Palma – up to 100 millimetres in twelve hours, with the rain mainly affecting the western and southern slopes, according to the authorities. During the same period, a yellow warning for thunderstorms is in force on these three islands and on La Palma. In the north of Tenerife, a second orange warning has been issued, this time for storm gusts.

Tenerife: Gusts of wind reach up to 90 kilometres per hour

In the north of Tenerife and across the whole of La Palma, an orange wind warning is in force on Sunday from midnight until midnight. The AEMET is forecasting south-westerly gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour, with the strongest winds expected in the mountainous areas; on La Palma, these will also be felt in the north-west and along the east coast. A yellow warning, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour, will be in place for both areas from 12 noon on Saturday.

Elsewhere on Tenerife, a yellow warning is in place all day on Sunday due to wind, specifically in the greater Santa Cruz area and La Laguna, as well as in the east, south and west of the island. The same warning level applies to El Hierro, La Gomera and the whole of Gran Canaria, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour, particularly at medium altitudes and on the peaks.

Orange rain warning in Gran Canaria, yellow on the eastern islands

In Gran Canaria, the orange rain warning is in force on Sunday from 12 noon until midnight and covers the mountainous region as well as the east, south and west of the island. Up to 25 millimetres of rain per hour and up to 80 millimetres over twelve hours are possible, particularly on the western and southern slopes. In the north of Gran Canaria, as well as on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, a yellow warning is in force during the same period, with up to 20 millimetres per hour expected; on Gran Canaria, the north-western slopes are particularly affected. All three islands are also under a yellow thunderstorm warning from 12 noon until midnight.

On Sunday, therefore, at least one warning will be in force across all the Canary Islands. In October, the AEMET issued an orange alert for El Hierro, La Gomera and the east of La Palma on a Thursday, at that time due to heavy showers and possible thunderstorms. Shortly afterwards, another orange-level rain warning was issued, accompanied by a severe Calima. This time, the orange warning extends across the whole of Tenerife as far as Gran Canaria.

When there is heavy rainfall in the mountainous regions of La Palma and Gran Canaria, the water in the barrancos quickly swells into raging torrents that can flow all the way to the coast. Particular caution is therefore advised in the ravines and along their edges.