Naval base planned for La Gomera

Aircraft carrier 'Juan Carlos I' heading for Valle Gran Rey in La Gomera island soon ? (Image:gomeranoticias.com)

It has just been announced that the outer harbour of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, is to be turned into a Spanish naval base.

After the revelation a few days ago that the Spanish navy has been shadowing and tracking Russian vessels which had been acting suspiciously while in waters around the Canary Islands for a while, it comes as no surprise that European and Nato forces are stepping up surveillance of vessels around these islands.

In a recent article published by local media like gomeranoticias, navy commander Alejandro Fraga Pardo de Guevara was quoted as saying: “It is a satisfaction for the navy personnel to contribute to collective deterrence in the archipelago, our work guarantees the integrity of the territory and prevents conflicts through a credible presence at sea”.

In another interview later rear admiral Juan Antonio Pepino de Bromista-Chistoso revealed: ''In view of the recent growth of global instability and conflict our presence in this remote archipelago in the Atlantic will now be increased significantly with the addition of a new small naval base in La Gomera's Valle Gran Rey to support our existing presence in these parts. This new base will help to protect Spain in line with our European and Nato defence obligations. The measure may also help to reassure the large number of anxious elderly German tourists and residents in the area and in general promote the area's safety.'' However,. the move should also be seen in light of the American president laying claim to the Canary Islands last year, as I reported HERE...

The rear admiral added: "Most ports and harbours of the Canary Islands are extremely busy or at capacity. They also often accommodate busy marinas which hamper our manoeuvrability. Valle Gran Rey's under-used, almost empty, large outer port facility is the natural choice for a new navy base. Further, its strategic far south-western location in the Atlantic with sweeping views over that area of operations and protection by tall mountains shoreside combined with only a small civilian population are making it most suitable.'' 

The long outer pier in Vueltas port with this SAR ship one of its few regular visitors

It is planned that the base will initially be home to 3 to 5 warships only during phase one. The current almost empty ferry terminal is to be converted into the naval base's command centre and an additional two floors will be added on top of this. The pier ''will get a long-range radar, a watchtower, fuel storage and ancillary facilities''. The ferry 'Benchi Express' will continue to operate from Vueltas, but will be moved to the old pier in the inner harbour. 

It remains to be seen how the spending power of the sailors when on leave will transform the nightlife of Valle Gran Rey when the naval base comes into operation on April 1st, 2027...ahoy there!

La Gomera hit by storm's torrential rain, see videos

 

Storm Therese (see previous posts HERE) caused lots of disruption and damage all over the Canary Islands during it's week-long life as one of the longest-lasting low pressure systems to affect the archipelago. There were well over 2.200 incidents reported, but thankfully all passed without any major injuries, but it did cause a lot of distress and material losses.

 

Yesterday, which was the final day of the dying storm, it was La Gomera's turn to be hit by torrential downpours. The worst affected areas were Alajero and Valle Gran Rey in the island's south and south-west, respectively. In Guada, the upper Valle Gran Rey, the island government's weather station reported over 105mm of precipitation and most of that came down in less than two hours. This caused numerous waterfalls, landslides and rockfalls and the barranco in the bottom of the valley became a raging torrent in a short time. Roads were impassable and the only road in and out of Valle Gran Rey had to be closed due to the amount of rocks and debris.One of the roads to Alajero was also closed as was the road along the coast in VGR and other minor roads in various parts of the island. Damage to properties, vehicles and infrastructure will take some time to fix, but miraculously there were no injuries.

The island's government declared an emergency and troops from the military emergency unit UME arrived by ferry to help with the clean-up operations. As many locals and tourists were left stranded with some having to catch flights in Tenerife, extra sailings by 'Benchi Express' ferry, which connects Valle Gran Rey and Alajero with the island's capital, were scheduled to facilitate arrivals and departures. As I write the clean-up continues and having previously experienced similar incidents I am confident that soon normality will return. Storm Therese has had it's final word and now is history and will be remembered for a long time. The weather for the coming days should be fairly good with the usual trade winds returning and very little rain, if any, expected.

I leave you with a warning. During the next few days caution is still advised because when the sun heats up, dries and expands loosened rocks and debris, rockfalls and landslides can be expected. 

Below a dramatic video of part of a restaurant collapsing in Gran Canaria after a landslide a couple of days ago. Thankfully there was no one in it there at the time:

 

Storm Therese ''hasn't spoken the last word yet'' after hundreds of incidents all over the Canary Islands

The road to Erque and Erquito in La Gomera, badly damaged during storm Therese (Image: rtvc.es)

A 15 ton boulder blocking a road in Gran Canaria yesterday (Image: canarias7.es)

Storm Therese (see previous post) in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera

Update Sunday March 22nd, 9pm: 

Upgrade of the rain warning for La Gomera for tomorrow, Monday March 23rd 2026, to level orange for locally very heavy rain and showers from 3pm until midnight with up to 30mm in just one hour possible.

Additional status yellow warning of thunderstorms valid from 10pm tonight until midnight tomorrow. The same upgraded warnings have been issued for the southern half of Tenerife and El Hierro island.

Update Monday morning March 23rd 2026:

Yet another update. The low is now almost over the Canary islands at around 1001hPa and the situation is very difficult to predict, as the dying system will be over or very close to the archipelago for a couple of days more. AEMET has dropped the t-storm warnings even though their prediction shows isolated thunderstorms over the islands, which may well happen. They've also issued an additional orange level rain warning for La Gomera, valid from 10am until 3pm today, when the previous orange warning for same will kick in until midnight. Tuesday then remains under a status yellow warning for heavy showers and now another additional yellow warning for same has been issued for Wednesday, valid until noon. San Sebastian de La Gomera had very heavy rain last night around 2am, when a whopping 47,5mm fell in a short time, while the rest of the island had very little rain. That's how unpredictable the situation is at this stage of a low pressure system that is lasting about a week(!) until it has finally completely dissipated on Thursday.

See next post HERE...

Storm 'Therese' will affect Canary Islands for days

Rain in San Sebastian de La Gomera recently 

Yet another low pressure system is beginning to form north of the Canary Islands and has been named 'Therese'. This depression comes after an unusually cold winter which on the positive side has brought copious rainfalls after several years of drought.

Storm Therese's exact track is still a bit uncertain, but it will most likely affect the Canarian archipelago from Tuesday afternoon, March 17th 2025, and could last until early next week. Usually storms last a day or two but this depression is very slow-moving and long-lasting. Some models suggest it could be right over these islands on Sunday or Monday while beginning fo fill, but that is too far ahead for a reliable forecast.

Anyway it is best to be prepared for intense rainfalls, resulting rockfalls, gusty high winds (predominantly westerly), thunderstorms, very high waves with rough seas and colder than normal temperatures with snow on the highest peaks. At least some disruption can be expected and a few larger events like the 'Tecnologica' festival in Tenerife have already been postponed.

It is expected that several official alerts and warnings will be issued once more detail is known, but it definitely won't be hiking nor beach weather for several days.

You have been warned...

Update March 17th 2026:

The depression is now expected to be situated just W-NW of Madeira on Thursday with a pressure of around 982 hPa. The first warnings for Thursday (below) have been issued by the Spanish meteorological service (aemet.es click this for their latest updates), and further warnings are expected for the following days.

Update March 18th:

Storm Therese is beginning to make its presence felt with La Gomera's Alto de Igualero weather station recording a gust of 108 km/h this morning and rain reported all over the island. The worst is yet to come and La Gomera's island government activated their emergency plan. All walks, trails, paths and all public recreational amenities have been closed. Schools, universities, etc., will close later today for the remainder of the week in all Canary Islands and the public have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel and outdoor activities over the coming days. The Spanish meteorological service Aemet has also issued a special advisory for the Canary islands which states that the adverse weather will continue ''at least'' until Sunday, and looking at the latest weather models I'd say  Monday at least. Below are the extended official Aemet warnings for Friday, but these may change as the situation develops (ed. they did change and I replaced the previously posted ones with the new ones):

Update March 19th, 00:30 am :

The warnings below for Saturday have just been issued:

Update March 19th, 9am:

There are now two more lows near the centre which will be absorbed, with several fronts yet to arrive in the Canaries. Below the OPC chart and the latest satellite image of this impressive system:

IMPORTANT UPDATE lunchtime 19-03-2026:

The AEMET warnings for Friday and Saturday have been upgraded, esp. for La Gomera, with higher orange level warnings for wind and rain. Precipitation tomorrow may be as much as 100mm in 12 hours. I have replaced the previously posted warnings above with the latest ones.

FUTHER UPDATES HERE... in the post published on Sunday 22nnd of March 2026

Parking puzzle

    How did this car end up parked there…? (Seen in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera recently)

St. Brigid’s day in La Gomera

St. Brgid’s day was celebrated in La Gomera with a cross made from local rushes and a session of Irish traditional music, song, and even some Irish dancing. Here as in Ireland today is a “festivo” (holiday), but it’s Dia de La Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Islands.

Will the Pope visit La Gomera this year ?

The historic Iglesia de la Asuncion, the main church in La Gomera's capital
 

As has been widely reported, Pope Leo XIV  will visit the Canary Islands this year during his first official trip to Spain. While the visit's details are yet to be confirmed the visit will include Barcelona and Madrid as well as making history as the first time a reigning pope visits the Canarian archipelago. He might want to follow in the footsteps of many dignitaries and royalty with a visit to La Gomera for a bit of peace and serenity, where Catholicism is still widely practised.We shall see what the Holy See will decide for the papal visit.

Rainy New Year('s)

A healthy, happy and peaceful 2026 to all who read this blog !

2026 is forecast to start with unsettled weather as storm system Francis west of the Iberian Peninsula is going to affect the Canary Islands. Strong winds, cooler temperatures and rainy spells which may be prolonged, heavy and accompanied by thunderstorms, are expected on New Year's Day. The Spanish meteorological service AEMET has issued warnings for the above. The weather for the following days remains unsettled, but gradually improving. Keep informed by checking AEMET (click). 

The locals will be very happy with the badly needed rain and will see it as a good sign for 2026.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !