Michael Coy
AEMET, the Spanish meteorological office, is predicting “certain” rainfall, at least for the first few days of Holy Week.
Semana Santa starts on Sunday 13 April, Palm Sunday and culminates the following Sunday, Easter Day.
AEMET says that the rain will start falling at midday on Thursday 10, in central Andalucía, and will continue throughout Friday with 95% certainty.
Then it gets worse.
There may be sunny interludes on Saturday and Sunday, but there is also a 100% certainty of rain.
The weather in the second half of Holy Week is probably going to improve.
In statements to the media, the territorial delegate of AEMET, Juan de Dios del Pino, indicated that there will be no rain in the region in the coming days. However, a storm will make its appearance starting Thursday 10 in Andalusia, with an unstable outlook until Holy Tuesday (15).
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According to the AEMET representative, the storm will affect all provinces, although it will be most prevalent in western Andalucía. He also explained that, in a forecast up to Palm Sunday, the rainiest day will be next Saturday. He stated that the front will leave periods with and without precipitation, and added that it is still too early to determine the extent of the rain after Sunday.
Regarding temperatures, del Pino specified that they will increase until Wednesday 9, when highs could reach 28 degrees in Andalucía.
They will then drop by about five degrees starting Saturday, while lows will remain stable throughout the period.
It is also worth noting the possibility of significant easterly winds on the coast of Cádiz and Almería starting this Tuesday.
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This forecast is looking disastrous for the Holy Week processions.
The ‘tronos’ – ornamental platforms, carried shoulder-high through the streets – contain life-size wooden carvings of enormous value.
These dramatic statues tell the story of Christ’s Passion and some of them are centuries old.
It would be foolhardy to risk damaging these figures by exposing them to the rain (a typical procession is out in the open for five hours), so the safest policy is to cancel the entire procession.
Thousands of people are adversely affected when this happens.
Preparations have been under way for months.
Costumes, rehearsals, silver-polishing, flower-arranging and band practice: all this work has been in vain if the procession doesn’t go ahead.
Ronda has three processions scheduled for Palm Sunday.
In the morning, “La Pollinica” is scheduled to launch semana santa by processing from La Dehesa to the Socorro church, before returning to its ‘home’.
The afternoon is programmed to continue with “El Prendimiento” setting out from San Cristóbal.
Its main trono is a big favourite, with a scene depicting Roman soldiers arresting Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Finally, the Ronda gypsies are listed to process in the evening, leaving from Santa María la Mayor.
