Glenn Wickman
CASTELLON is once again being hit by severe storms, just days after part of a residential block in Peñiscola collapsed killing a teenager when 60 litres of rain per square metre fell on the town in just 40 minutes (as reported by The Olive Press).
The province is on orange alert for flooding since yesterday (Sunday August 29) and until at least 9 pm this evening, with Sunday registering severe material damage as a result of downpours that mainly affected the coastal resort of Benicassim.
According to figures released by State weather agency AEMET, Sunday set the new record for rain in one single day in August in Benicassim, with over 150 litres per square metre falling in just 24 hours.
In addition to Castellon, Teruel and Tarragona have also been placed on orange alert – the second highest level – while Valencia Province, the rest of Catalunya and several other parts on inland Spain are on yellow warning.
Leading climatology experts who have analysed the weather situation in Castellon Province this summer suggest that the season has, apart from the last week, been ‘generally normal’ – within the predicted consequences of climate change, that is.
Heatwaves, thermal blowouts such as the one that knocked over a Ferris wheel in Valencia’s Gandia, and fierce hailstone storms that caused considerable damage at the end of July should not be the norm, but experts suggest that they are ‘coherent’ with climate change predictions and that they will become more frequent in the future.
The climatologists also warn that the increasing temperature of the Mediterranean sea throughout the summer will lead to increasingly fierce gota fria storms in the autumn, specifically September and October.
READ MORE:
- Teenager killed in house collapse in Spain’s Peñiscola
- Sudden 80 kph gust of hot wind knocks over large Ferris wheel in Spain’s Gandia
