The warm storm this Saturday afternoon in the south of the province of Alicante, which left between 22 and 2.5 liters per square meter depending on the area, does not alleviate the situation of intense drought in the southern countryside of the Valencian Community.
In statements to EFE, the person in charge of the Climatology Laboratory of the University of Alicante, Professor of Geography Jorge Olcina, stated that yesterday’s storms were the most notable episode of rain since March 1 (that day 5 fell 8 liters per square meter in the city of Alicante and yesterday they did not exceed 2.5).
The ‘warm storm’ of the last hours formed in the middle of the afternoon in the Region of Murcia and moved, from south to north, to Alicante to leave 22 liters per square meter in some districts of Orihuela, 10 in Guardamar and 8.2 in Rojales, in addition to the aforementioned 2.5 in the city of Alicante.
It is called a ‘warm storm’ because it originated from the excessive heat accumulated on the surface and the humidity of the environment in a situation with hardly any instability in the atmospheric column. The storm was unloading rains with less and less intensity, for which reason 30 liters were recorded in the Murcian capital in just half an hour, according to data from the State Meteorological Agency and the Valencian Association of Meteorology.
Olcina has stressed that this episode was accompanied by a strong electrical device, which speaks of a fairly intense concentration of energy within the cloud caused by excessive heat, and also in the city of Murcia the rain coincided with gusty wind, in what is known as a “warm blowout”.
The expert has warned that this type of situation in conditions of high heat is difficult to predict, especially to locate the specific place where the greatest rainfall can be concentrated. In any case, he has ensured that this Saturday’s episode has accumulated “totally insufficient amounts to cover the rainfall deficit of recent months and therefore to solve the problem of drought.”
This Sunday, very strong gusts of northwesterly wind are expected in the early hours in the northern interior of Castellón and probable occasional showers with storms late in the day in the southern half of the Valencian Community, which could also occur in coastal areas.
The sky will be slightly cloudy with intervals of high clouds that will increase to cloudy intervals in the afternoon, the minimum temperatures will drop inland and will have few changes on the coast, and the maximum will continue with few changes on the Castellón coast and will decrease in the rest, locally notable in coastal and pre-coastal areas of Alicante and Valencia.
In the north of Castelló, the wind will blow from the moderate northwest, with very strong gusts in the early hours in the interior; and in the rest, there will be a variable light wind at first, tending to the east and southeast, light to moderate from noon, according to Aemet’s forecast.
For the first day of May, cloudy intervals are expected in the early hours, without ruling out some scattered showers in the southern third, which will tend to be slightly cloudy or clear with intervals of high clouds.
The minimum temperatures will drop slightly and the maximum will experience few changes. In the north of Castellón, the wind will be from the northwest moderately occasionally strong, with very strong gusts in the northern interior in the morning; and in the rest, variable light wind with sea breezes.
