ANYONE in Madrid is being urged to avoid all unnecessary travel today as severe storms, hail and flash flooding threaten to batter the capital.
State meteorological agency AEMET has activated an orange alert, the second highest, for the city and its surrounding metropolitan area.
The extreme weather warning is in place from 12pm until 10pm tonight.
It comes as two DANA (high-altitude isolated depression) weather systems sweep across the Iberian Peninsula, colliding with accumulated surface heat to create highly unstable conditions.
Forecasters predict intense, localised storms capable of dumping more than 30mm in just one hour.
The heavy downpours will be accompanied by thunder, lightning, hail and wind gusts exceeding 50kph.
In a public plea, both the Ministry of the Interior and Emergencias Madrid have warned the public to stay off the roads.
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Authorities are advising residents to avoid low-lying areas, dry riverbeds and parking under trees due to the risk of falling branches and sudden floods.
“They are local phenomena, but they can be very intense,” a spokesperson for AEMET warned online.
“Possible floods and falling branches or objects, precaution.”
While the metropolitan area and the Henares corridor face the worst of the extreme weather, the rest of the Madrid region is also on alert.
A yellow warning is active for the Sierra de Madrid, the south, and western towns including San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Aranjuez and Navalcarnero.
In these areas, up to 15mm could fall in an hour, alongside strong winds and potential hail.
Air travel is also expected to be hit, with experts warning that flights into Madrid-Barajas could face significant delays or diversions this afternoon.
The combination of heavy hail and strong wind gusts often forces air traffic controllers to restrict the number of aircraft landing per hour, meaning holidaymakers heading to the capital could find themselves diverted to alternative airports.
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