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Saturday, September 24, 2022

Storm Hermine: Heavy rain in Canaries - WARNING


                                                                             Archive image

A tropical storm named Hermine has formed north of the Cabo Verde Islands and is moving slowly north towards the Canary Islands. The associated heavy rainfall is imminent in the Canaries and warnings have been issued by the Spanish authorities for today, Sept. 24th 2022, tomorrow, and Monday. The American National Hurricane Centre has also issued a public advisory in its latest bulletin:

BULLETIN
Tropical Storm Hermine Advisory Number   4
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL102022
800 AM CVT Sat Sep 24 2022

...HEAVY RAINS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND FOR THE CANARY
ISLANDS...
...FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS...
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL: Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to produce 3 to 6 (75
to 150 mm) inches of rainfall with localized higher amounts up to 10
inches (250 mm) across the Canary Islands through this weekend. This
rainfall may cause some flash flooding in areas of higher terrain.

These rainfall amounts are especially hazardous after years of drought in the Canaries. Rockfalls and landslides can be expected. Do not walk or drive in the mountains. The Canarian government has issued the a ''maximum alert'' and recommends to avoid all travel and all outdoor activities. Traffic disruption is to be expected. All events have been cancelled. Flooding in valleys and all lower regions is also possible. Thunderstorms have been predicted which can deposit extreme amounts of precipitation in a short space of time. The western Canary Islands are most at risk and for these level orange warnings have been issued for La Gomera (even red for parts of La Palma island and same for all of El Hierro island), as well as numerous public advisories by local authorities. Rainfall may accumulate up to 30mm in just one hour in La Gomera

One bit of good news is that winds won't be extreme, but still an added hazard with warnings in place of peak gusts of around 70 km/h, but possibly higher in exposed mountain areas.

Below is a summary of the warnings issued for tomorrow, Sunday 25th of Sept. 2022:

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