Storms batter Canary Islands as 130 Kilometer pro Stunde gusts exceed warning

On La Gomera, the Spanish Meteorological Service AEMET recorded gusts of 130 kilometres per hour during the severe weather in the Canary Islands. The reading was recorded on Wednesday between 6.38 am and 3 pm at the Vallehermoso-Alto Igualero station. The orange-level warning had predicted gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour for La Gomera.

During the same period, two other stations recorded similar peak speeds: Tejeda-Cruz de Tejeda on Gran Canaria reached 124 kilometres per hour, and Izaña on Tenerife reached 120. However, the wind yellow alert for Tenerife is only in effect, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour. However, the measurements were taken at individual locations rather than across the entire islands, and the figures are significantly higher than the wind forecasts from the Met Office.

The AEMET also recorded the heaviest rainfall on Tenerife, specifically at the Cañadas Parador station, where 69.4 litres per square metre had fallen by 3.00 pm, 15.8 litres of which fell within an hour. This was followed by San Mateo (Corral de los Juncos) on Gran Canaria with 46.1 litres, Hermigua-Ayuntamiento on La Gomera with 43.8 litres, La Palma Airport with 38.8 litres and Cuevas del Pinar in San Bartolomé de Tirajana with 30.6 litres. The most severe rain warning, however, applies to La Palma and remains in force until midnight.

Rain warning for La Palma: Orange until midnight

An orange alert is in place across the whole of La Palma from 10.00 am until midnight. The AEMET forecasts up to 30 millimetres of rainfall in one hour, with a probability of 40 to 70 per cent, particularly in Breña Baja, Breña Alta and Santa Cruz de La Palma. A second orange warning is in place from 10.00 am to 5.59 pm for the mountainous region and the east. Up to 100 millimetres of rainfall is possible there over twelve hours, particularly north of the Caldera de Taburiente.

In the west of the island, a yellow warning is in force from 7 am until midnight, with up to 60 millimetres of rain expected over twelve hours; from 6 pm, the same warning level with the same amount of rainfall also applies to the mountain peaks and the east. Between 12 noon and 3.59 pm, a yellow wind warning is also in force, with gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour from the south-west, particularly on the peaks, on the north-western flank and on the eastern and south-eastern sides. The highest hourly rainfall on La Palma was recorded by the meteorological office in Puntagorda at 13 litres per square metre.

Due to strong winds, an orange alert is in force from 10.00 to 17.59 on El Hierro, La Gomera, the whole of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. The AEMET forecasts gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour for El Hierro and La Gomera, up to 90 for Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, and the warning for Gran Canaria lists both figures: 100 and 90 kilometres per hour. The probabilities are 10 to 40 per cent and 40 to 70 per cent respectively. On El Hierro, the south-westerly wind will affect the higher ground and the coasts at the eastern and western ends; on La Gomera, it will affect the mid-altitude areas, the peaks and the coasts in the north-north-west and south-south-east. For Gran Canaria, the weather service cites the mid-altitude areas, the north-west coast and large parts of the south-west coast, but particularly the peaks, where the warning threshold may be exceeded. On Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the wind is blowing across the whole island, with the strongest gusts on the northern and north-western slopes.

Yellow severe weather warnings for Tenerife and the coast

The AEMET has issued a Yellow alert for the severe weather conditions in Tenerife. The wind warning is in force from 00:00 to 17:59 for the greater Santa Cruz and La Laguna areas, particularly at medium and high altitudes, and will also extend to the north, east, south and west from 14:00, especially the south-eastern flank. Rain of up to 15 millimetres per hour is possible across the whole island until Thursday at 7.59 am, and the meteorological office does not rule out thunderstorms, particularly in the north.

The AEMET has issued a warning of rough seas along the north coast of Tenerife from 10.00 to 15.59, in the Santa Cruz and La Laguna areas from 13.00 to 15.59, and along the east, south and west coasts from 13.00 to 17.59. Winds from the west to south-west are expected, reaching speeds of 50 to 61 kilometres per hour (wind force seven). The same warning applies from 10.00 to 17.59 for the coasts of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, as well as for the east, south and west coasts of Gran Canaria; on the north coast of Gran Canaria, the warning applies from 13.00 onwards. A yellow warning for rain of up to 15 millimetres per hour is in place on Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote until Thursday at 11.59 am, and on El Hierro and La Gomera until Thursday at 4.59 am. The weather service considers thunderstorms possible, particularly on the eastern islands.

During heavy rain or thunderstorms in the mountains of La Palma and Gran Canaria, water can collect in the barrancos and flow down as a flash flood all the way to the sea. You should therefore exercise particular caution in the ravines and on their edges.