Widespread weather alerts for storms and gales: Spain weekend forecast March 20-23
Storm Martinho will arrive in Spain on Thursday, bringing driving rain, strong gusts and more stormy conditions
Weather alerts forecast on Thursday March 20
You may need to rethink your weekend plans as the rain has no intention of letting up over the next few days. Quite the contrary, in fact, as high-impact storm Martinho is rapidly approaching from the Atlantic and is carrying a powerful pocket of cold air.
Over the weekend, all of Spain will suffer what’s curiously known as the ‘Fujiwhara effect’, a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when two cyclones or low-pressure systems approach each other. When they are close enough, they begin to rotate around a common point and can merge.
According to the forecasts, once of these low-pressure systems will move into the west of Spain on Thursday night, March 20, before being absorbed by storm Martinho, creating gale-force winds along the Atlantic coast.
This also means that rainfall will be widespread throughout Spain until Saturday March 22, with the heaviest downpours expected in western Andalucía, Extremadura, Castilla y León, the Central System, Galicia and the Pyrenees.
Thursday March 20
As we prepare for the arrival of storm Martinho, Thursday will be very cloudy and wet across the country. Saharan dust will also be carried in so most of eastern Spain can expect plenty of muddy rain.
Gusts could reach hurricane-force winds in the Cantabrian peaks, and very strong winds are also expected in other parts of Andalucía and the southern plateau.
Thursday night will be milder than previous days and the maximum temperatures should also creep up a little in the southeast.
Orange weather alerts for strong winds: Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, Basque Country.
Yellow weather alerts for strong winds: Andalucía, Aragon, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Madrid, Navarra, La Rioja.
Yellow alerts for rain/storms: Andalucía, Castilla y Leon, Extremadura.
Friday March 21
Instability will continue across the country under the influence of storm Martinho. Cloudy or overcast skies will predominate, with widespread rainfall expected.
Scattered thunderstorms are expected across the board but rain is less likely in the extreme southeast.
Muddy rain is again likely in the east and in the Balearic Islands, but the suspended dust should ease off later in the day.
Yellow weather alerts for strong winds: Andalucía, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarra, La Rioja.
Yellow alerts for rain/storms: Aragon, Castilla y Leon, Extremadura, Madrid.
Saturday March 22
Storm Martinho, which has already begun to dissipate, is expected to move away northward. However, unstable conditions will persist across the country, with mostly cloudy or overcast skies. Showers accompanied by occasional thunderstorms will impact all of Spain aside from the southeast, where it should remain dry.
Daytime temperatures will drop throughout Spain.
Yellow alerts for dangerous sea conditions: Andalucía, Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, Region of Murcia, Navarra.
Sunday March 23
The weather should finally settle down on Sunday as the storm systems move away and the cloud cover should lift as the hours go by. It will still be showery in most of the country but any rain should be quite light.
Daytime temperatures will continue to fall across the whole country and although some strong gusts are forecast, all of the adverse weather alerts have been lifted.
Join our Spain Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates
Images: Aemet
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