The Government sends an ES-Alert for risk of floods in the Alt Penedès, the Anoia and the Baix Llobregat

BarcelonaThis Tuesday is expected to be complicated regarding rain, and at the moment, the alert is focused on Alt Penedès, Anoia, and Baix Llobregat. At 10:00 AM, Civil Protection sent a new ES-Alert in these areas due to the risk of flooding from torrential rains over the next three hours. The instructions are not to go outside, not to go look for your car, and not to go down into basements. According to the head of forecasting at Meteocat, Santi Sagalà, the rains have left records of more than 30 liters in half an hour in the Penedès, and even reached 41.5 liters in Sant Martí Sarroca (Alt Penedès) early this Tuesday morning.

The 112 emergency service has received 246 calls, the majority from Alt Penedès, and the Generalitat Fire Department has attended to 51 incidents, none of them major. The Government is also very attentive to river flows and reservoirs, such as the Foix reservoir, which is being monitored, and citizens are asked not to approach the riverbed. There are several points in the Catalan territory where a lot of rain has fallen over a long time, leaving some streets with minor flooding, as is the case in Cornellà de Llobregat. On the Ronda de Dalt, at the height of Montbau, the water is also affecting traffic.

The downpours are also affecting El Prat airport, located in the Baix Llobregat region, one of the three with the highest risk of torrential rain. The storm is causing delays to flights originating from or destined for Barcelona. Enaire, the air navigation manager, has reported that it is applying safety regulations for arrivals. It is for this reason that it recommends checking the status of flights with the airlines. Vueling, the main airline at Barcelona airport, has admitted that adverse weather conditions may affect "some" of its operations. On the Aena website, there are also occasional cancellations, although for now the airport operator has not detailed how many.

In addition, Renfe announced early in the morning that it will suspend the circulation of all high-speed trains and also regional ones, which cover medium-distance routes, between 9 and 11 in the morning. The decision, which was taken "unilaterally," comes after warnings of a severe rainstorm. The trains affected by this suspension are the AVE services on the northeast corridor, the Avant, the Euromed, and the Medium Distance lines. Regarding regional trains, there are two trains suspended, departing from Estació de França at 9:15 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., to Tortosa and Móra la Nova, respectively. On the other hand, commercial services are expected to run starting at 11 a.m., provided that weather conditions allow it and the safety of passengers can be guaranteed. Some passengers showed resignation in the face of this situation, such as the case of Antonio, who is traveling to León with a layover in Madrid, and who arrived at Sants station four hours before his train to try to catch an earlier trip, warned by a message from Renfe early in the morning.

First alert

From the very first hour, a round of showers and storms was already expected that could be strong and leave torrential downpours in several regions. In fact, Civil Protection already sent an Inuncat alert this Monday night due to the possibility of very intense showers along the entire Catalan coast and pre-coastal area. In parallel, the Meteocat has issued a red warning (5 out of 6) for rain in eight regions, including Barcelona, during the period from 6 am to 12 pm this Tuesday.

The forecast is that the downpours now in Penedès and Anoia will move "slowly" northwards, towards the Barcelona regions, and could produce "torrential" precipitation. In this morning's press conference, the deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé, insisted on asking for caution and following the meteorological forecasts, and ruled out for now sending new generalized alerts, as she considered that the public was already informed this Monday evening.

Affected regions

The counties that received the alert this Monday night were: la Selva, Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Garraf, Alt Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Baix Camp, Alt Camp, Baix Penedès and Tarragonès. The forecast is for intense rain that could lead to significant water accumulations that may exceed 40 liters per square meter in just half an hour, or 90 and even 150 in three hours, without ruling out local amounts of up to 150 liters per square meter in total. Faced with this scenario, the Government sent an Es-Alert this Monday at ten at night to thirteen coastal and pre-coastal counties expected to be most affected by the rain.

Solé explained that these will be localized and concentrated storms, which can lead to episodes such as torrential rain in one specific part of a city while not a single drop falls in another. Given the variability of the weather, Civil Protection did not rule out this morning having to issue new Es-Alerts during the day in specific spots where a lot of water may be accumulating, just as happened at 10 a.m. In any case, caution has been requested, extreme precautions in mobility and outdoor activities, and not approaching flood-prone areas, not parking in streams or flood-prone points, nor crossing spaces with water accumulation.

During this Tuesday morning, downpours are expected especially in points along the coast and pre-coastal areas, particularly between Barcelona and Girona. In the afternoon, the highlight of the episode will move to the northeast, although scattered showers will continue to fall in other areas, especially along the coast and pre-coastal regions. These precipitations will be fueled by a sea much warmer than it should be at this time of the year. Rain will be less likely or only nominal in the western counties.