Overview
- Severe storms over southern Spain triggered flash flooding in Murcia and spawned several waterspouts off La Manga, with cars stranded in deep water.
- Spain’s state weather agency kept yellow alerts for thunderstorms and orange alerts for torrential rain in the Campo de Cartagena area, with up to 40 mm of rain possible in an hour.
- Meteorologists warned that the wider system over eastern and southern Spain remains unstable, with more downpours, lightning and strong gusts still possible.
- Waterspouts are rotating columns of air over water that can generate very strong winds in rare cases up to about 250 km/h, creating hazards for boats and beachgoers.
- The burst of severe weather follows weeks of unusual warmth and comes after March’s Storm Leonardo, which brought heavy rain, major disruption and at least one death in Spain and Portugal.