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

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 !

Severe weather alert for Canaries this weekend

Archive image

Storm 'Emilia' will bring very unsettled conditions to the Canary Islands this weekend with very rough seas, unusually high waves and swell, intense rainfalls, thunderstorms and very strong northerly winds predicted, all accompanied by a marked drop in temperatures which could even result in snow falling in the mountains above 1800 metres. Numerous weather warnings have been issued and local governments have activated their emergency plans as a precaution, while the Canary Islands' directorate for emergencies has issued a maximum alert with all events postponed or cancelled. In La Gomera all hiking paths and walks as well as all facilities in Garajonay national park have been closed. Avoid unnecessary outdoor activities and travel. See weather alerts by AEMET here...

The warnings are in force from this Friday afternoon, Dec. 12th 2025, until Sunday lunchtime, but be aware that even when low Emilia has passed and warnings have been lifted, the danger of rockfalls persists for some time, especially in the mountainous terrain of La Gomera.

Updated weather warnings issued for Canary Islands

An additional status orange warning of very heavy downpours, thunderstorms and strong winds has been issued for the western Canary Islands a bit earlier today November 12th 2025 by the Spanish meteorological agency. In La Gomera the island's government has activated its emergency plan and asks to avoid travel and to stay away from all hiking trails, walks and unpaved forestry tracks. Ravines, valley floors and low lying areas should also be avoided due to the risk of flash flooding as rain accumulations of up to 30mm in just one hour can be expected.. Same applies to the other western Canary Islands of Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. The warnings are valid from lunchtime today until tomorrow afternoon. Status yellow warnings of thunderstorms and wind have also been issued. A heavy swell with large waves can als be expected. Gran Canaria will be under similar warnings tomorrow only while Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will come under yellow warning (see image above). Go to the Spanish meteorological service's (AEMET) official website in English for further detail.

All this is due to a large area of low pressure, presently around 980 hPa, situated NNW of the Canary Islands and off the WNW of the Iberian peninsula, named storm Claudia.

Please be aware that there is a high risk of rockfalls, which will remain for a couple of days once the rain has cleared away and the sun heats up the wet mountainsides.

Warning of heavy rains in western Canary Islands

A status orange warning of very heavy downpours, thunderstorms and strong winds has been issued for the western Canary Islands today June 7th 2023 by the Spanish meteorological agency. In La Gomera the island's government has activated its emergency plan and all hiking trails, walks and unpaved forestry tracks have been officially closed for today.

Yesterday some significant rainfalls were already recorded in many parts of La Gomera and today even heavier rain with accumulations of up to 20mm in just one hour and 12-hour totals of up to 60mm may be expected. There's also a warning of westerly winds blowing in excess of 70 km/h in exposed areas and  thunderstorm activity.

All this is due to a complex area of low pressure, presently around 994 hPa, situated NW of the Canary Islands and named storm Oscar.

Please be aware that there is a high risk of rockfalls, which will remain for a couple of days once the storm has cleared away and the sun heats up the wet mountainsides.

General Election Results 2015

How La Gomera and the Canary Islands voted:

La Gomera:

Please note that the above does not include parties that won less than 3% of the vote.
La Gomera itself has no voice in the Spanish parliament, but in the Spanish Senate La Gomera had one seat to fill and this was won yesterday by the new ASG party of the island's president C. Curbelo (see: Local elections 2015).

Dec. 20th 2015 election results in the Canary Islands, 

which have 15 seats in the Spanish parliament :

Note: Only parties that have won seats are shown above