The extreme conditions in eastern Spain which saw Valencia get a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours can be blamed on an event locally known as Depresion Aislada en Niveles Altos (DANA).
This weather situation occurs when the jet stream high up in the atmosphere meanders like a river and creates a cut off area of low pressure.
That can become slow moving or almost stationary, with surrounding high pressure blocking it and allowing heavy rain to fall in the same region.
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Cool air from the north is drawn across the warmer Mediterranean waters, a situation known to bring severe weather to the area in late summer and autumn when the sea surface temperature is high.
That temperature difference can then enhance storm development and rainfall totals.
But rainfall amounts on Tuesday were extreme, with AEMET, Spain’s meteorological department, reporting 491mm in just eight hours at Chiva, near Valencia.
That’s a staggering amount of rain and more than a year’s worth.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
The October average is more like 65mm.
AEMET also reported 230.4mm of rain at Utiel, near Valencia, with 217.2mm of that falling in 12 hours and 141.8mm in just six hours.
Pic: Europa Press/AP
Members of a rescue team search for missing people in Letur. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Drought conditions and hard, baked ground can increase the risk of flash flooding, but this is probably a minor effect given the amount of rainfall observed.
There have also been in excess of 20,000 lightning strikes from storms since Monday afternoon.
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Dramatic rescues after torrential rain
The forecast shows further heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely over the next few days, which would bring further impacts.
A rare red weather warning – the highest level – for heavy rain is in place for the Campina gaditana region of southern Spain until the end of Wednesday.
Forecasts currently suggest 120mm of rain may fall in 12 hours.
A map from Spain’s national weather agency shows the intensity of rain in different parts of the country on Tuesday. Pic: AEMET
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Red weather warnings alert the public to the potential for extreme or catastrophic damage to properties, with a threat to life, especially to the vulnerable or to people in exposed areas.
Amber rainfall warnings – the next level down, so still serious – cover more of southern Spain, including Seville.
Thankfully, the weather looks much more settled later into the weekend and early next week.