The astronomical spring starts this Friday, March 20, marked by the Unstable weather from Storm Theresewhich especially affects Canary Islands with heavy rain, wind and waves. Furthermore, Meteored anticipates that a polar air mass could bring cold, frost and snow to several areas of Spain next week, just before the Easter week.
Precipitation and alerts in the Canary Islands and Andalusia
After a winter full of storms, the season opens with extreme atmospheric conditions. Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Gomera have registered wind gusts of up to 120 km/hwhile the storm keeps all the islands in orange alert and has caused the suspension of school activity as a precaution. Five islands of the Canary archipelago have orange warnings today due to rain, winds of up to 100 km/h and coastal phenomena, while parts of Andalusia and the autonomous city of Ceuta maintain a yellow warning.
Storm Therese will cause heavy rainfall in the midlands and peaks of the north of the Canary Islands, with wind gusts of up to 100 km/h in Tenerife and La Palma, and force 8 in the Channel between Tenerife and Gran Canaria. In Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the danger level will be lower, with a yellow warning until 6:00 p.m. In Andalusia, Cádiz, Almería and the Granada coastThey will have winds, rains and coastal phenomena with yellow warnings, while Malaga It will register accumulated 15 liters per square meter. Ceuta It maintains a yellow alert until 3:00 p.m.
Possible polar air next week
On the other hand, Meteored warns that, during the next weeka mass of polar air could reach Spain, which will return the winter atmosphere to several areaswith a decrease of temperatures, frost and snowfall, especially in the northern third of the peninsula and Balearics. According to their forecasts, the extreme southwest would remain out of the cold, while in the Canary Islands the remains of Storm Therese will dissipate by mid-week.
General Spring Predictions
The AEMET offers a more general overview for meteorological spring (March-April-May). It is expected a 50% chance of warmer than normal temperatures in the Canary Islands and the southwest of the peninsula, compared to a 20% probability of lower temperatures. In the rest of the peninsula, the probability of it being warmer reaches 60%, and in the Balearic Islands 70%. Regarding precipitation, there is still no clear trend, due to the high variability of the season and the uncertainty of long-term models.