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:

Weather warnings for Christmas Eve 2018

The Spanish meteorological sevice has issued weather warnings for La Gomera and the rest of the Canary Islands for tomorrow, Christmas Eve 2018. Easterly winds are expected to gust to 80 km/h and will bring dust from the Sahara which could reduce visibility to just 3000 metres. Rough seas are to be expected. 

This weather, called Calima here in the Canary Islands, is expected to gradually improve from Christmas day. There won't be much heat with this Calima episode as we're in mid-winter when the Sahara is fairly cold.

Light Calima this week

Forecast of dust concentration for Thursday, Dec. 6th 2018, a bank holiday in Spain

A very stable and blocking high pressure system over the Iberian peninsula and North Africa is steering an easterly airflow over the Canary Islands and this is not expected to change for the remainder of the week. It is bringing very dry and warm air from the Sahara, and from later today some dust is expected resulting in mostly sunny weather with a light Calima (click for more information).

Thankfully the Sahara is not too hot at this time of the year and recent rains over North Africa have kept the dust down, so the effects on the Canaries should be minor, but warmer than usual temperatures, dry air with mainly fresh easterly winds, strong and gusty at times, will be felt here. Make sure to drink enough water.

The weather should return to normal over the weekend, when the winds are expected to turn back to the usual NE trade winds bringing clearer air, according to most forecasting models.

Wind and wave warnings

It is going to be very windy until about noon on Tuesday, 14th of March 2017. The Spanish meteorological service has issued several warnings of gale force northerly winds gusting to 90 km/h or more, especially on Monday (level 'orange warning). Further warnings have been issued of rough seas with combined swell and wind-driven waves to reach four to five  metres on exposed coastal stretches. Be very cautious on roads, secure that garden furniture, etc., and stay away from exposed areas !

Record temperature but warnings cancelled

During the current episode of Calima weather the concentration of Saharan dust in the air turned out to be a lot lower than had been predicted. It is however still significant, as you can see in the image above which I took around 2 pm today. Consequently the Spanish meteorological service has cancelled all dust load warnings that had been issued for most of the Canary Islands previously. That's the good news.

However, the temperature turned out much higher than had been forecast and a new record was set for the highest March temperature at Tenerife South airport yesterday, where 34,2ºC were recorded in the afternoon. Very high temperatures were reached in La Gomera, too, with La Dama in the south registering 33,1ºC and Hermigua in the north topping that with 33,5ºC. Humidity levels are very low, too, averaging around 20% only. As I write the temperature is already above 32ºC and yesterday's highs may well be surpassed later today.

High up in the mountains of La Gomera temperatures will be a bit lower, but the easterly wind will be stronger up there. Current indications are that the calima will gradually ease from Saturday evening bringing lower temperatures.

Warning of calima for a few days

The dust load forecast for Friday evening by the Barcelona Dust Forecast Centre of the Spanish met. service

The present light calima conditions are expected to worsen and a much heavier dust load in the air is expected as winds from the Sahara in the east will freshen. The already summer-like temperature is set to increase, particularly in the medium to high altitudes of La Gomera, and could reach 30ºC or even more in places. The fairly high dust concentration is expected to lead to much reduced visibility of only about 3.000 metres generally, and even only 1.000 -2.000 metres at times. A status 'yellow' weather warning of these conditions has been issued by the official Spanish meteorological service for tomorrow, Thursday March 8th 2017, and remains valid until Saturday evening. Friday is expected to be the worst day of this episode of calima conditions.
Current indications are that the dust will gradually clear later on Saturday, with a return to more normal temperatures and fresh to strong north-easterly winds from Sunday. It should remain mostly sunny in the south, and cloudy spells are expected in the north.

Find out more about the so-called CALIMA...

Hope on the horizon for some rain

The 'Rainbow' enhancement of today's 12 noon satellite image

While the remainder of today should be mostly sunny with few cloudy intervals, there is some hope for badly-needed rain for tomorrow, particularly during the first half of the day. A minor Atlantic depression of 1004 hPa is approaching and will soon be to the north of the Canary Islands near Madeira while filling before finally dissipating. 

There is already a lot of convective precipitation and thunderstorm activity around the low centre, but once again most of that rain is likely to pass to the north of the Canaries. There is however a good chance that La Gomera and the western Canary Islands will get some good showers and/or spells of rain, potentially even heavy ones, from late tonight until Wednesday evening.

We've also got an upper level low sitting over the same area which should aid the convective precipitation and a forming trough.  Warnings of some heavy downpours in parts of La Palma and Tenerife have been issued.

There's also the risk of some scattered thunderstorms, but the good news is that this time the winds will only be light to moderate from a mostly southerly direction. 

The weather should dry up late on Wednesday with a return to mostly sunny conditions and moderate north-easterly winds forecast for the remainder of the week.

This winter season has been much too dry in La Gomera and let's hope that this small depression will deliver some precious water before the dry weather returns.

To be on the safe side, mountain areas and ravines should be avoided tomorrow, though.

Weather gradually improving

Rough seas at La Puntilla, Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, today.

La Gomera escaped the worst of the rain this morning as this passed just to the north of the Canary Islands. However, some very strong winds were recorded here and the weather station in the mountains at Alto Igualero recorded sustained wind speeds of well over 90 km/h with gusts of up to 144 km/h between 5am and 9am. The strong winds lead to some power outages, but no major damage was reported. However, torn branches and debris are still to be expected on roads, and as always during and for quite some time after wind and rain, rocks and soil may be dislodged and fall. Caution is advised !

The eagerly awaited abundant rainfalls failed to materialise and the accumulations during the short periods of pecipitation were pretty poor. 

Seas were, and still are, pretty rough but apparently did not disrupt ferry services. The warning for high waves will be lifted at 6 pm.

All other warnings have now ended and the weather is gradually improving with good sunny periods. There should be some more showers, possibly heavy and squally, during the remainder of Sunday, however.
A further few scattered showers could still arrive on Monday and Tuesday, mainly affecting the north of the island and the mountain areas.

Winds are forecast to become variable light to moderate on Monday and Tuesday and it should be mostly sunny generally.

Current indications are that another Atlantic depression may affect the Canaries on Wednesday with some hope of badly needed rain, but that could once again just pass us by without giving much, if any, precipitation. It is expected to dissipate anyway 😩.

Caution is advised and La Gomera's emergency plan remains activated today (Image: gomeratoday.com)

Bad weather imminent

A deceptively beautiful but disturbed looking sky at 4pm on Saturday 11-02-2017

This is just a quick update on the weather situation for La Gomera (see previous post):

Today, Saturday 11-02-2017 turned out better than expected but the forecast for tomorrow, Sunday 12-02-17, has worsened considerably and severe weather is imminent, bringing gale force winds, locally heavy downpours, isolated thunderstorms and rough seas. Appropriate weather warnings come into effect from midnight tonight and altogether 7 (seven !) weather alerts at levels from levels 'yellow' to 'orange' have been issued by the Spanish met. office for La Gomera. I won't bore you with all the details, mostly concerning time, and will just give you the synopsis:

From very early morning until late afternoon severe winds and heavy downpours can be expected, as well very rough seas. Synopsis of alerts for La Gomera :

• Westerly winds may well gust to 90 km/h in exposed areas 
• Combined swell and wind-blown waves may reach 15-18 ft on exposed coasts
• Heavy rain is expected with intensities of up to 20 mm/h with localised flooding
• The combination of rain and wind may cause landslides and rockfalls

Official warnings by Spanish met. office

The government of the Canary Islands has issued separate alerts and ...

• all public recreational areas, parks, campsites, etc., have been closed.
• it is advised to secure outdoor furniture, flower pots, etc, etc,...
• all outdoor events, sporting fixtures, outdoor markets, etc., have been cancelled.
• unnecessary travel and outdoor activity should be avoided
• extreme caution is advised generally

With a bit of luck it might not turn out to be as bad after all, but you have been warned...
Anyway, the weather should greatly improve from Sunday afternoon.

The current situation showing that the secondary low will reach 992hPa very rapidly while the main low maintains 994hPa

A windy and rainy weekend in store

Some forecasting models predict this scenario for 6am Sunday morning

SEE latest update (click this)

Wet and windy weekend weather is forecast to affect the Canaries from midnight tonight, even though the sun is shining and there are only a few clouds in Valle Gran Rey as I'm writing this.

A storm depression of 988 hPa is west off the Portuguese coast now and beginning to track south, bringing it closer to the Canary Islands. The depression is expected to be of 994 hPa tomorrow and north of these islands, before moving a bit further away to the north-northeast early on Sunday with an expected 992 hPa. Some models predict that the main depression may spawn-off a secondary but short-lived low very close and just to the north of us (see chart above), which would complicate the situation and may bring higher potential for precipitation.

What all this means is that La Gomera and the rest of the Canaries will be in for spells of rain during Saturday and on Sunday until afternoon. Some of the rain may be heavy in places and isolated thunderstorms can be expected as several frontal systems will pass through the islands. Further, strong westerly winds are expected with gale gusts and seas will be rough with a combination of 3-4 m swell and wind-blown waves.

The following status 'yellow' weather alerts have been issued for La Gomera:

Saturday, Feb. 11th 2017: 

From 00:00 am until 6 pm: Westerly winds gusting to 75 km/h or more in exposed areas.

Sunday, Feb. 12th 2017: 

From 00:00 am until 12 noon: Rain intensity up to 20mm/hour

From 3 am until 3 pm: Winds gusting to 80 km/h or more in exposed areas.
+++ A status 'orange' alert for Sunday from 4 am to 11 am: Gusts of 90+ km/h

The Canarian government has also issued weather alerts and La Gomera's government has called for extreme caution.

While the above weather forecast is not dramatic and not unusual for this time of the year, please bear in mind that the situation is still developing, possibly changing at any time, and that local phenomena and conditions can always spring a surprise.

Please do not put yourself at risk by hiking or walking in the mountains and postpone any such activity until at least a day after the weather has improved. Avoid unnecessary travel and if you must venture out, do so with extreme caution as there's bound to be debris on the roads, and falling stones and rocks are likely due to the wind and rain, especially after the long dry spell we've had. 
Late Sunday and Monday the worst will have passed but the weather will still be unsettled. Also note that warnings may be changed at short notice.
...and the just-issued OPC forecast chart for Sunday noon has confirmed a secondary low of 996hPa (below)

Weather set to improve gradually

Image taken in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, yesterday 'between the showers'

There were frequent heavy showers yesterday and more of the same is expected today, but as was the case yesterday there will be sunny periods as well.The strong winds should ease later, but the sea will remain rough with waves of 4-5m height on exposed coasts. Showers will become more isolated, but will continue until Sunday morning with the mountains and the north of La Gomera most at risk. Wind and rain warnings should be lifted later today, but the warning of rough seas will remain in force until late Saturday.
There were some minor rock- and landslides affecting roads but thankfully no major incidents. The park around the Torre del Conde in San Sebastian de La Gomera where a palm tree was felled by gale gusts remains closed to the public, however.

The weather station at Alto de Igualero, La Gomera's second highest mountain, situated at about 1470m above sea level recorded over 40mm of rain in the past 30 hours and a wind gust of 94 km/h. It has become much colder with a flow of polar air streaming across the Canary Islands and the station up there recorded a minimum temperature of only 1,2 ºC last night which indicates that there was some ground frost in the mountains, a rare occurrence on La Gomera. Even down in Valle Gran Rey the temperature dropped to just below 12ºC last night and here the maximum values will struggle to reach 22ºC during the sunny spells expected, but it will feel fresher due to the northerly winds.

Video of yesterday's heavy rain on Gran Canaria

While here on La Gomera the eastern half of the island had some good showers yesterday, here in Valle Gran Rey I'm still waiting for the rain. However, for today until 7pm we again have an 'orange' level rain alert, and from then until Sunday night a level 'yellow' one.

On Gran Canaria and on Tenerife some areas had torrential rain yesterday, and the town of Telde on Gran Canaria, where over 100mm of rain fell in a short time, even had to declare a state of emergency, but luckily no one was seriously hurt. See video below:

Be aware of the UV index

The UV index will be extremely high with a value of 11 today and for the coming days, so avoid being in the sun for too long and use adequate skin protection against the sun's harmful UV radiation.

As the summer weather is usually too boring in the Canary Islands to write up daily weather 'news' I have substituted that with the current sea water temperature ('surface' is at up to two metres depth) and the current UV index.

The sea also plays a part in the UV radiation because it will amplify it by reflection. Be aware that if you're anywhere near or on the water that the average given in the UV index can actually be much higher where the sea reflects it.

When the day's predicted UV Index is at a given value, the relevant recommendations for protection are as follows in the chart from Wikipedia:

UV Index	Media graphic color	Risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure, for the average adult	Recommended protection
0–2.9	Green	"Low"	Wear sunglasses on bright days; use sunscreen if there is snow on the ground or reflection from water surfaces which reflect UV radiation, or if you have particularly fair skin.
3–5.9	Yellow	"Moderate"	Take precautions, such as covering up, if you will be outside. Stay in shade near midday when the sun is strongest.
6–7.9	Orange	"High"	Cover the body with sun protective clothing, use SPF 30+ sunscreen, wear a hat, reduce time in the sun within three hours of solar noon, and wear sunglasses. (Australian slogan: Slip-Slop-Slap-Seek-Slide.)
8–10.9	Red	"Very high"	Wear SPF 30+ sunscreen, a shirt, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat. Do not stay in the sun for too long.
11+	Violet	"Extreme"	Take all precautions: Wear SPF 30+ sunscreen, a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, sunglasses, and a very broad hat. Avoid the sun within three hours of solar noon.

Coast road being eroded further by waves

Council finishing the clean-up yesterday. Note the rough state of beach

The big waves over the past few days that forced the temporary closure of the coast road between La Puntilla and La Playa in Valle Gran Rey at one stage even endangered the carnival proceedings in the Plaza San Pedro, where crews from the town hall had to clear sand, gravel and other debris that were swept onto the plaza by the waves that had been flooding part of the area at high tide before.

Yesterday's parade and the following party went ahead with only minor disruption by the heavy seas. However the situation regarding the above mentioned road is further deteriorating and the holes in the road are gradually getting larger while the old protective wall is further slipping into the sea and breaking up. This stretch of the road was built many years ago onto the beach across the lowest part of the land where the sea and beach had once been a good bit further inland. Now it seems the waves are claiming back their former territory. Several times in the past the road had been undermined

Collapsing defences yesterday

there, but every time the holes were quickly filled with large boulders and concrete, keeping the defences up. Now due to the wrangling over responsibilities the road was left to itself. The dangerous part was simply fenced off and traffic diverted via a short stretch of the old track inland below the coast road. For many years plans have existed to build a new promenade there plus there are plans for a new main road further up. It would also make sense to build simple breakwaters at both ends of the bay which would protect it, make it safer for swimming and keep the sand and gravel on the beach where it is wanted as an amenity and will protect the coastline.

It is a bit absurd to see the state the coastline is in now, and then turn your head inland to see the large building site in the barranco a few yards away where countless tons of stones and concrete are being used in the channelling of the barranco that no one wanted done, but which will cost in excess of seven million Euros, while just behind you the road has been left to crumble away for nearly a year.

Soon the sea may breach the road completely. Image taken around half tide yesterday.

Steel waste bin wave-beaten to a sculpture

Coast road closed due to high waves

High waves again affecting the partially collapsed coast road (Image: Archive lagomera1.blogspot.com)

The coast road connecting the districts of La Puntilla and La Playa in Valle Gran Rey has been closed to all traffic this afternoon as a precautionary measure due to the high waves battering coasts in the Canaries. Traffic is being diverted from Hotel Gran Rey and Bar Maria (respectively). The road had been partially undermined and sea defences had collapsed some time ago (see post of April last). No repairs were carried out since, allowing further erosion over the past ten months.

It is hoped that the carnival activities in La Playa tonight and over the coming days can take place on the beach there as planned, but some food and drinks stalls already had to be moved further away from the seas as they were threatened by the waves.
Weather conditions are predicted to improve from tomorrow night, however.

Condition the road was in two weeks ago. It has become worse in present weather situation.

Last snow on Tenerife slowly melting

Spring has arrived in the Canary Islands but there's still some snow on Tenerife high up on Mount Teide. Its 3,718-metre (12,198 ft) summit is the highest mountain in Spain. In winter the top of this still active volcano is  covered in snow at times while far below the peak at sea level it is very warm and people are out on the beaches sunbathing and swimming in the sea. I took these photos  a couple of days ago from La Gomera and they show the southern slopes of Teide with the remnants of the last snowfalls on its summit.

Mount Teide's southern slopes just one month ago (above) and now (below and top)

Warning of big swell and gusty winds

There's a warning of waves of 4 metres for today and tomorrow. Northerly winds will be strong with gusts of up to 70 Km/h. Both will apply especially on exposed northern coasts.

Bay of Hermigua on La Gomera's north coast

Donut Cloud

There was great variety in the skies yesterday. The day started with almost completely clear blue skies (as it did today) and ended with rainbows to the north while interesting cloud formations alternated with sunshine to the south. See for yourself:

Blue skies with Portuguese TAP Airbus A330  en route from Porto Alegre
 in Brazil to Lisbon approaching La Gomera at 39.000 feet.

TAP 46

The late afternoon sky looking north brought drizzle in the upper valley and rainbows...

…while looking south-west brought this donut-shaped cloud (right)

Cold front 2 - now with added improvement

There was a second cold front yesterday evening and night, but as the low directly over us even deepened further to 1005 hPa it became more benign and after leaving a good bit of rain the night before (rain at night is the BEST rain), it only brought a few good  showers after that. The depression will begin to fill and dissipate today, making room for a new high of 1020 hPa within 48 hours. That means that we'll be back to sunnier and warmer weather - business as usual - and the farmers are happy to have had a good watering of the crops. The temperature will remain below the average for this time of the year for today before recovering on Saturday to regain the 'eternal spring' values that the Canary Islands are normally blessed with, and the the odd shower expected tomorrow will keep La Gomera in verdant splendour. All the irrigation water reservoirs are now at 85% of full capacity already, and a colourful blossom-laden spring is almost guaranteed.
This minor weather interlude here was due to the repeated extreme storms that hit Ireland, Britain and other parts of northern Europe since before Christmas. Keep 'em coming !
I met tourists and visitors yesterday, clad in T-shirts with shorts and flip-flops while I was wearing four layers of clothing including a padded raincoat and heavy boots. They felt warm while I was frrrreezing. It's all relative...

The southern sky at 3:30pm yesterday still looks threatening as a shower closes in on El Hierro on right

Similar view 2,5 hrs later: The southern sky has cleared and the sun is blazing again to dry the wet ground

The photo of the (yester-)day that says it all and was taken from La Gomera, however, goes to to © lavozdelagomera.com with this impressive take from above the statue over San Sebastian de La Gomera with Mount Teide on neighbouring Tenerife island partially snow-covered in the background (well done, chico, we don't see that too often!):

Cold front

A cold front brought good rainfalls to Valle Gran Rey last night and further showers can be expected today. The polar air that came with it makes it feel pretty cold today and the minimum temperature on my thermometer last night read only 10,5ºC, making it the coldest night during my time here. By now (10am) the temperature is back up to 15ºC, but this still is colder than usual. The low pressure of about 1007hPa that has formed over the Canaries will remain stationary for today, but is expected to fill and move away in 48 hours and the normal, warmer weather with more sunshine will have become established again.
Hiking and walking in the mountains is inadvisable as for the rest of the day there are weather warnings of heavy showers and thunderstorms.

A fairly overcast and cool morning Jan. 9th, 2014