Canary Islands battered by fierce storms and torrential rain
Severe weather warnings have been issued across the Canary Islands this weekend as torrential rain brings chaos and forced the closure of schools.
All schools were closed on Friday as storms hit the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of west Africa.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET put the region on amber alert and warned that the eastern most islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were likely to be the worst hit with rain of up to 30 litres per square meter per hour expected.
Those tourists willing to brave the wind and rain and head for the popular resort of Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria may have spotted an unusual weather phenomenon just off the beach.
A waterspout, an intense columnar cortex connecting storm clouds to water, was spotted for several minutes just meters away from the beach.
Videos of the 'tornado' - as some referred to it - were shared on social media.
@delav2003 Mira esto, es en Playa del Inglés... pic.twitter.com/dhCkuCaGHF
— SANDRA (@sanijo92) October 23, 2015
Torrential rain caused flash floods in areas across Gran Canaria and Tenerife on Friday morning closing roads and causing landslides.
But the storms were expected to pass by Sunday.
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All schools were closed on Friday as storms hit the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of west Africa.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET put the region on amber alert and warned that the eastern most islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were likely to be the worst hit with rain of up to 30 litres per square meter per hour expected.
Those tourists willing to brave the wind and rain and head for the popular resort of Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria may have spotted an unusual weather phenomenon just off the beach.
A waterspout, an intense columnar cortex connecting storm clouds to water, was spotted for several minutes just meters away from the beach.
Videos of the 'tornado' - as some referred to it - were shared on social media.
@delav2003 Mira esto, es en Playa del Inglés... pic.twitter.com/dhCkuCaGHF
— SANDRA (@sanijo92) October 23, 2015
Torrential rain caused flash floods in areas across Gran Canaria and Tenerife on Friday morning closing roads and causing landslides.
But the storms were expected to pass by Sunday.
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