Storm Nelson dampens Spain's Semana Santa celebrations
Storm Nelson has soaked parts of Spain during its famous Semana Santa celebrations, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, waves, and cancelling processions across the country.
In some parts of the country, Spain's Semana Santa celebrations have been something of a washout this year. Storm Nelson has brought fierce winds, waves and heavy rain, cancelling many Easter processions.
Winds of up to 140km/hr in parts of north western Spain left several people injured, and even caused some flights to be redirected or cancelled.
READ ALSO: Strike action at Spanish airports set to disrupt Easter travel
As such, Spain's state meteorological Aemet has implemented severe weather warnings in many parts of the country.
There are serious orange-level warnings in the north west of the country, particularly on the Galician and Asturian coast, and yellow-level warnings across large swathes of northern Spain, as well as in the south-west and south-east, particularly on the Mediterranean coast.
You can find a full breakdown of the weather alerts on the Aemet website here.
Sadly, the weather doesn't look as though it will improve over the Easter weekend. Storm Nelson is not directly above Spain, but weather fronts connected to it will sweep across the peninsula over the next few days.
On Maundy Thursday, a cold front will remain stationary over Spain, spreading across most of the country from southwest to northeast. Rain will be particularly heavy in the southwest and west of the country, notably in cities famous for Semana Santa processions such as Seville and Málaga.
Rainfall could exceed 50-60 mm in areas of Huelva, Seville, Badajoz, Córdoba and Ciudad Real, according to El Tiempo. Strong winds will continue throughout the day.
In parts of Castilla y León, Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, rainfall will be weaker but could still amount to more than 10mm in large areas.
Good Friday is also forecast to be another wet day in many parts of the country. Waves could exceed 5 metres in areas of the Atlantic, the Bay of Biscay and also in the Mediterranean, especially around the Balearic Islands. Friday could also see strong gusts, especially in the early hours of the morning.
Saturday will be another unstable day, with heavy rain forecast in the west and along the Atlantic coast. Aemet forecasts show storms and even potentially lightning over the weekend that will begin to ease in the early hours of Easter Monday. Initial forecasts predict the rains could finally cease by Monday evening.
Aemet gave a pretty succinct forecast on its Twitter/X account yesterday: "Storm Nelson will leave rain, snowfall and strong winds during the next few days."
As is clear from the Aemet graphic below, Spain is set for several days of heavy rain and wind over the Easter weekend.
Tiempo previsto en Península y Baleares desde 28-03-2024 hasta 03-04-2024. Info siempre actualizada en https://t.co/keCWfwv3Ua pic.twitter.com/7WyDfCVbvc
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) March 28, 2024
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In some parts of the country, Spain's Semana Santa celebrations have been something of a washout this year. Storm Nelson has brought fierce winds, waves and heavy rain, cancelling many Easter processions.
Winds of up to 140km/hr in parts of north western Spain left several people injured, and even caused some flights to be redirected or cancelled.
READ ALSO: Strike action at Spanish airports set to disrupt Easter travel
As such, Spain's state meteorological Aemet has implemented severe weather warnings in many parts of the country.
There are serious orange-level warnings in the north west of the country, particularly on the Galician and Asturian coast, and yellow-level warnings across large swathes of northern Spain, as well as in the south-west and south-east, particularly on the Mediterranean coast.
You can find a full breakdown of the weather alerts on the Aemet website here.
Sadly, the weather doesn't look as though it will improve over the Easter weekend. Storm Nelson is not directly above Spain, but weather fronts connected to it will sweep across the peninsula over the next few days.
On Maundy Thursday, a cold front will remain stationary over Spain, spreading across most of the country from southwest to northeast. Rain will be particularly heavy in the southwest and west of the country, notably in cities famous for Semana Santa processions such as Seville and Málaga.
Rainfall could exceed 50-60 mm in areas of Huelva, Seville, Badajoz, Córdoba and Ciudad Real, according to El Tiempo. Strong winds will continue throughout the day.
In parts of Castilla y León, Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, rainfall will be weaker but could still amount to more than 10mm in large areas.
Good Friday is also forecast to be another wet day in many parts of the country. Waves could exceed 5 metres in areas of the Atlantic, the Bay of Biscay and also in the Mediterranean, especially around the Balearic Islands. Friday could also see strong gusts, especially in the early hours of the morning.
Saturday will be another unstable day, with heavy rain forecast in the west and along the Atlantic coast. Aemet forecasts show storms and even potentially lightning over the weekend that will begin to ease in the early hours of Easter Monday. Initial forecasts predict the rains could finally cease by Monday evening.
Aemet gave a pretty succinct forecast on its Twitter/X account yesterday: "Storm Nelson will leave rain, snowfall and strong winds during the next few days."
As is clear from the Aemet graphic below, Spain is set for several days of heavy rain and wind over the Easter weekend.
Tiempo previsto en Península y Baleares desde 28-03-2024 hasta 03-04-2024. Info siempre actualizada en https://t.co/keCWfwv3Ua pic.twitter.com/7WyDfCVbvc
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) March 28, 2024
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