Last gusts of the east wind in the next few hours

BarcelonaThe easterly wind caused by the storm Harry The storm reached its peak this Tuesday, with rainfall sweeping across the country, particularly heavy and continuous in the northeast. In the Girona region, rainfall exceeded 100 or locally 200 liters per square meter throughout the storm, and in some municipalities, Tuesday was the wettest day in decades (all the data for this event can be found at the end of this report). Adding insult to injury, the abundant rainfall has caused river levels to rise significantly, exceeding the flood risk threshold. This is the case with the Onyar in Girona, the Daró in La Bisbal d'Empordà, the Tordera in Fogars de la Selva, the Muga in Castelló d'Empúries, and the Ter in its lower reaches. Most rivers remain very high, carrying between 200 and 500 cubic meters per second. Take maximum precautions in the coming hours even though it has stopped raining, especially in the river mouths of Baix and Alt Empordà.

In the last few hours, the situation has improved in the northeast, where the worst of the storm has already passed. The heaviest rainfall has been concentrated in the south and west of the country. Starting this Wednesday, the storm Harry And the easterly winds will march on and become history, but we will enter a dynamic of Atlantic fronts that will keep the weather changeable and unsettled for the rest of the week.

Last onslaughts of the storm

Rainfall will become increasingly scattered and light throughout the night, but it's still possible to rain almost anywhere until well into the evening. Generally, light and scattered showers or drizzle are expected, with the heaviest rainfall concentrated in southern Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Therefore, the weather situation will clearly improve in the Girona region, where river levels will begin to recede. The maritime storm will also decrease in intensity, although rough seas and danger will persist along the entire coast. Warnings remain in effect until midnight for accumulations of more than 100 liters per square meter and heavy swells.

Wednesday: radical change in weather

The easterly winds will completely subside this Wednesday, and the wind will even shift to a southerly and southwesterly direction. However, rough seas will persist, with a swell, and the weather will remain cloudy. The sky will be partly to mostly cloudy. Light showers or drizzle are possible during the morning on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees.

A weak Atlantic front will arrive from the west this afternoon, increasing cloud cover and bringing some light showers to the Lleida and Ebro regions. These showers may spread eastward throughout the day, but will be brief and produce only minimal rainfall overall.

The snow level will be between 1,200 and 1,500 meters, the lowest in the western Pyrenees. Strong southwesterly winds will be present in the Empordà region and at higher elevations in the Pyrenees and the northeastern mountains. Moderate temperatures are expected in the early morning, becoming less cold around midday, with many highs between 10°C and 15°C.

New fronts throughout the week

Throughout the rest of the week, a series of Atlantic fronts will move across the country, generally bringing little precipitation. Showers are expected in several areas on Thursday morning, and some light, scattered showers are expected in the west on Friday. All of this will be accompanied by gusty winds that will become noticeable in many regions.

The weekend could be meteorologically interesting. A more active front will arrive on Saturday, bringing precipitation to much of the country, especially in the morning. Snowfall will be clearly visible below 1,000 meters, as this will coincide with the arrival of another wave of cold air and wintry conditions. This situation will develop over the next few days.

Rainstorm Summary

• The easterly winds we experienced on Monday and Tuesday brought rain everywhere. But the most continuous and abundant rainfall was clearly concentrated in the northeastern regions, especially those in Girona, where over the last 48 hours, rainfall exceeded 100 or 200 l/m². At some weather stations, Tuesday was the rainiest day in many years, or since records began. This was the case in Torroella de Montgrí and Castell d'Aro, with 146 and 118 l/m², respectively, where it hadn't rained so much in nearly twenty years. Furthermore, Monday was also the rainiest day since 2006 in Portbou, with 114 l/m² accumulated. These are the most notable provisional records from the two-day easterly winds: 213 l/m²: Palafrugell
• 180 l/m²: Portbou
• 176 l/m²: Torroella de Montgrí
• 160 l/m²: Roses
• 152 l/m²: Banyoles
• 154 l/m²: Girona
• 154 l/m²: Castell d'Aro
• 150 l/m²: Fornells de la Selva
• 142 l/m²: Cabanes
• 141 l/m²: the Tallada of Empordà
• 134 l/m²: Espolla
• 133 l/m²: Fornells de la Selva
• 130 l/m²: Navata
• 128 l/m²: Torroella de Fluvià
• 122 l/m²: La Ardilla-Cantonigros
• 121 l/m²: Santa Coloma de Farners
• 122 l/m²: the Bisbal d'Empordà
• 110 l/m²: Darnius-Boadella Swamp
• 108 l/m²: Puig Sesolles

The storm at sea was also very severe along the entire coastline, with waves reaching heights of over 6 or 7 meters in some areas. A 10-meter wave recorded offshore at the Begur buoy (Baix Empordà) stands out, as does a 7.16-meter wave on the Barcelona coast. Regarding river flows, the peak of over 500 m³/s on Tuesday morning in the Daró River near La Bisbal d'Empordà is particularly noteworthy, even exceeding the maximum recorded during the storm. Glory Six years ago, the snowfall was greater than the flow of the Ebro River at Tortosa. Even the Banyoles reservoir has risen. In the eastern Pyrenees, heavy snowfall continued above 1,200 or 1,400 meters, with significant accumulations ranging from half a meter to a meter of new snow throughout the event.

Tuesday marked the fifth consecutive day of heavy rain in Catalonia, which has experienced several phases. Beyond the northeast of the country, significant rainfall also fell in the south and west over the weekend, with several areas recording over 100 l/m². Meteocat has provided the most significant rainfall totals across the region for the past five days: