Rain at last

After weeks of extremely dry and dusty conditions some  significant amounts of rain fell all over La Gomera this morning. In the southwest up to 16.4 mm ( in La Dama) had fallen and most of the island had received between 7 and 14 mm by 10 am. There's a status 'yellow' weather alert for the western Canary Islands for rain up to 20 mm in one hour and for isolated thunderstorms, valid until tonight. Caution is advised on roads and hiking paths.

For the next few days some further rain showers may be expected, but with good sunny periods too.

Warning: Rainy day(s)...

...ahead, and they're welcome by local farmers who're just after planting the first spuds and other crops for you to enjoy, and by those who want to have a shower here without feeling guilty. 

BUT there's a status 'yellow' warning of heavy showers and possibly persistent rain of up to 15 mm per hour for  Wednesday 21st of  November 2018 valid for La Gomera from 9 am 'til 9 pm. More showers, some possibly heavy, are forecast for Thursday. After Tuesdays perfect day for exploring the island (images on this blog soon), please don't be deceived and avoid the spectacular valleys, cliffs, and mountains.

Thankfully it won't be very windy, but the downside of that is that the latest cold front will have more time to 'linger' and discharge precipitation to leave locally persistent rain, if and when and where. Even the odd thunderstorms cannot be ruled out. The temperature is expected to go down a  bit from tomorrow in all areas, but more markedly so in the mountains. However, still feeling warm by northern European standards and up to the low twenties ºC in the southern coastal areas.

...and don't you dare blame me for catching a nice sunny spell on a southern beach and/or a heavy shower while there. You have been warned...

For all the western Canary Islands, including all of Tenerife a 'Yellow' rainfall warning applies for Wednesday and for La Palma island they've given a 'status orange' warning.  

Summary: VERY HEAVY SHOWERS EXPECTED - DO NOT HIKE and TAKE CARE !
Tonight there's a halo around the moon, and an ol' saying goes: Ring around the moon - rain coming soon.
UPDATE: La Gomera rain alert now valid from Wednesday 1 pm 'til midnight

Relative vorticity 500mb  for Friday 12:00h UTC. Stay tuned...

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)

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:

Weather returning to normal today

As you can see in the webcam picture of the harbour of San Sebastian de La Gomera taken at 9am the weather has calmed and is returning to the pleasant conditions that are one of the main attractions of the Canary Islands.

All weather warnings for La Gomera have now expired except a remaining one of rough seas which will end at 12 noon today.

The outlook for the next few days is for mostly sunny conditions with maximum temperature in the mid-20s ºC, moderate winds, and only some scattered showers - most of those in the north of the island.

La Gomera has escaped the recent storm relatively unscathed, but drive carefully as there may still be some debris on the roads. In the national park there is a lot of foliage and some branches on the roads and this will take some time to be cleared - see image below by gomertoday.com :

Severe weather warnings for this weekend (Updated)

Wave height and direction forecast for Sat. morning 06 am UTC

UPDATE SATURDAY, Nov. 29th 2014, @ 5 pm:
The storm is gradually abating, but warnings (see below) remain in place until midnight. 
The Canary Islands will be slowly but surely getting back to normal tomorrow, Sunday Nov. 30th '14.

UPDATE SATURDAY, Nov. 29th 2014, @ 11 am:
La Gomera today is cut off from the 'rest of the world' as the airport remains closed and all ferries have been cancelled until 4 pm when sailings may be resumed, pending an improvement in weather conditions. There were many minor incidents such as blown down signage, solar panels, trees, etc., but thankfully no injuries have been reported. There are very high seas, especially on northern and western coasts and some minor damage to coastal infrastructure. Earlier this morning the strongest wind gust in the Canaries was recorded high in the mountains of Tenerife at Izaña where the wind reached 175 km/h.
The good news is that the worst is now over and the red alert has ended. The level orange warnings of strong wind and waves will remain in place until tonight, though.
Tomorrow the weather should gradually return to the normal pleasant conditions and the outlook for the early days of next week is for mostly fine weather.

UPDATE FRIDAY, Nov. 28th 2014, @ 4 pm:
Gale to storm force winds with hurricane force gusts continue in the Canary Islands where several inter-island and international flights are rescheduled, cancelled or diverted. Some minor roads closed. Ferry cancellations and rescheduling. Some minor accidents. Minor rockfalls and landslides.

UPDATE FRIDAY, Nov. 28th 2014, @ 1 pm:
The town of Agulo has been without electric power since early this morning. All schools and colleges on La Gomera have been closed. La Gomera airport is closed until further notice. Revised ferry timetables apply, but for how long ports can remain open is anybody's guess. CAUTION, the worst is yet to come !

UPDATE FRIDAY, Nov. 28th 2014, @ 11am:
The maximum wind gust warning value has already been exceeded on La Gomera this morning at the Igualero mountain station with about 100 mp/h (158 km/h):

Racha (km/h)
Estación	Provincia	Hora	km/h	Datos hasta
Vallehermoso, Alto Igualero	Santa Cruz de Tenerife	08:40	158	09:00
	(La Gomera)

Sea, air and land traffic is expected to be at times severely disrupted and there have been flight cancellations already. The 2.500-passenger TUI cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3' will not visit La Gomera today as planned, and the Armas ferry to El Hierro island will not sail.

Tree branches and other debris is causing delays on some roads. Even though the waves are still relatively benign the previously damaged coast road between Puntilla and La Playa in VGR has already suffered further damage. Peak wave heights of 5-6m are expected to occur between 2 and 6 am Nov 29th. and I doubt if this stretch of road will survive the night. CAUTION ! 
Avoid travel today and tomorrow, but if you're scheduled to do so check with your travel company before attempting any journey. 

UPDATE FRIDAY, Nov. 28th 2014, @ 9am:
The Spanish Met. Office has elevated the warning level for wind to the highest (red) level: W-NW wind gust of 130 km/h are to be expected from now for the next 24 hours.All other warnings remain unchanged.

Now read the original post:

A vigorous depression north of the Canary Islands near the Iberian peninsula is expected to track SE and deepen. This will bring gale to storm force winds and high seas to the Canarian archipelago from early morning Friday 28th of November 2014 until at least early Sunday morning. Associated cold fronts will also bring showers or some longer spells of rain for a while and the temperature will decrease. Isolated thunderstorm activity may occur. However, the latter and the rainfalls pose a lesser threat than the wind and waves, and the fronts should pass through fairly rapidly. Conditions should have improved considerably by noon Monday. 

Level orange warnings have been issued for westerly to north-westerly winds with gusts of up to 100 km/h. Even stronger gusts may be experienced in exposed areas and near mountains, where due to local turbulences 130 km/h wind gusts may occur.

Further, level orange warnings have been issued for Canarian waters and exposed coasts for waves of 5 to 6 metres in height. This is a wave height very rarely experienced in the Canary Islands and is potentially damaging to coastal defences and infrastructure. Rogue waves may be be even larger, and the combination of heavy swell, local tidal conditions and wind-blown waves is hard to predict.

BOTH ABOVE WARNINGS ARE VALID UNTIL LATE SATURDAY NIGHT, NOV. 29th, 2014
The Canarian Met. Assoc. have elevated their alert for wind and waves to the highest (red) level. Even Met Eireann forecasters here in Ireland have advised of this situation in several bulletins.
Please avoid mountain terrain and coastal areas and be extremely cautious generally.

OPC forecast chart for noon Friday, Nov.29th, 2014

Rain forecast for Friday noon. Note the heavy rain fcst. for Morocco, where dozens lost their lives in floods recently.

New weather warnings for Sunday

A mixture of sunshine and showers today in VGR. The Timah webcam shows rain in the upper valley at 11am

While the general situation is gradually improving, some showers will still affect La Gomera today. The worst of these will affect the Northern and the mountain regions where some may be heavy or prolonged and fog can be expected in the national park. Some sunny spells in the south of the island.

The showers will gradually become more scattered tomorrow, Sunday 23rd of November 2014, but new warnings of northerly winds gusting up to 75 km/h from around midnight tonight have been issued and remain until 6pm Sunday.

A modified warning of heavy seas combined of strong swell and wind blown waves has been extended from 9am Sunday until late Monday night. Seas may reach 15 feet on exposed coasts.

Weather update - rain warning cancelled

A landslide caused by the rains forced the closure of a minor road  near 'El Rejo' yesterday. The steep mountain pass is prone to rockfalls and landslides in this particular stretch of the scenic road. Image: gomeranoticias.com
Update Friday evening: This road has now been cleared of  debris and is open for all traffic again.
Update 2, Saturday evening: Some more rain during Saturday caused another, even larger landslide in the same spot. It has resulted in the road being closed once again until further notice. 

Weather:
No major change in the weather situation, but the weather should improve a lot early next week according to forecasts. This morning there were frequent showers on La Gomera with sunny interludes. This pattern should continue for most of the day and showers can be expected for the rest of the weekend. It will also become quite windy.

The good news is that the warning of heavy rain for tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 21st 2014, has been cancelled for La Gomera, while it remains in place for some other parts of the Canary Islands.

However there's a new warning for La Gomera of heavy seas with waves of 3-4 metres for Sunday. Below is the OPC chart for Monday showing high pressure beginning to become established once again near the Canary Islands, bringing more pleasant conditions:

Weather warnings extended

As you can see from the webcam picture taken by gomera.info at 10:40am it appears to be a pleasant enough morning in Valle Gran Rey and the worst of the weather now seems to be over the eastern Canary Islands. There hasn't been any more heavy rain on La Gomera but the warnings have been extended until Friday morning 8 am. Rainfall accumulations predicted for La Gomera could reach 20mm in one hour and 60mm in 12 hours. The warning of thunderstorms will end at midnight tonight. A new warning for 60mm of rain in 12 hours will come into effect late Friday night and will extend until midnight Saturday night.

There's a fairly strong sea swell running, so be careful near coasts.

The weather situation is constantly changing and new low pressure systems are expected to form just north of the Canaries, so new warnings may be issued and existing warnings may be cancelled. I'll keep you informed.

Bad weather for rest of week - Weather warnings

OPC chart for noon Wednesday 19-11-14

Unsettled weather is beginning to affect the Canary Islands from tonight for much of the remainder of the week according to all forecast models. Colder air from polar regions is streaming down and beginning to interact with the still very warm air and sea temperature around the Canaries. A series of low pressure systems are expected to form north of the archipelago and associated cold fronts will bring rain from west to east. The first of these will bring showers, some heavy and prolonged, affecting western islands from early tonight. Thunderstorms may also be expected.

Over the coming days the unsettled weather will continue with occasional thunderstorms, showers or longer spells of rain and some very windy periods. It will be colder than of late but still up to the low 20's ºC max. in the sunny periods that may also be experienced - but beware as these may not last very long.

The first weather warnings for La Gomera predict rainfall accumulations of 25mm in just one hour and 60mm in 12 hours. There is also a warning of thunderstorms. It is advisable to cancel all activities in mountain terrain and near riverbeds.

Update Thursday, Nov. 19th '14, @ 11:30 am:
A fair bit of rain fell during last night, but nothing extreme. It is overcast now, but dry and quite pleasant with some patches of blue in the sky. Further showers are expected, however, and the approaching next cold front could bring thunderstorms and heavy bursts of rain.
Update,  Nov. 19th '14, 9 pm:
There's another weather warning of rain accumulations of 20mm in one hour and 60mm in 12 hours and for thunderstorms for the period from 6am tomorrow morning until 11 pm tomorrow night.

The situation at 5pm Tuesday. Canary Islands are at far right

Severe weather warnings in Canaries from 10-12-13

NOTE: I will post updates at the end of this post if and when necessary

                                                The Canary Islands will be adversely affected by a low 

pressure system to the west from today until Friday, Dec. 13th 2013. The very active front associated with this system will move slowly across the archipelago from west to east and will be further slowed down by a very moist and warm mass of air, further complicating matters.

The forcing gradient has already produced strong winds on La Gomera yesterday with reports of gusts over 80km/h in several places and a maximum gust of 107km/h.this wind will probably further increase today and warnings for severe gusts have been issued.
Wind warning: Winds of 100 km/h from today until Wednesday 12 noon. Stronger gusts in exposed areas.

For about 24 hours  from late today, Tuesday Dec.10th 2013, heavy rain is expected to begin to affect us gradually from west to east and the warning of thunderstorms signals a further increase of the potential for cloudbursts. Warnings have been issued for rain amounts of 50mm per hour and accumulations of 120 mm in 12 hours. There is a high risk of localised flooding. 

The Canarian Meteorological Association have raised their alert to the highest level as have the Canarian government and the civil protection agency with an 'ALERTA MAXIMA'.

It is advisable to stay in a safe place until the situation improves and not to undertake walks and unnecessary car journeys. All modes of travel may be adversely affected.

Avoid cliffs and mountains. Be extremely cautious near river beds and be aware that the wind may tear down signs, sheeting, etc.. Official warnings and alerts apply.

Update 3:30pm:
All schools and colleges on La Gomera have been closed and will remain closed tomorrow. Some ferries are still running with delays, but Armas ferries have suspended their sailings. Most other public transport is still running with delays. Winds are still gradually increasing and first raindrops have fallen. Expected rainfall amounts have been revised upwards. La Gomera's emergency plans have been activated as have those of neighbouring islands. The front is slowly approaching and tonight and tomorrow morning the worst of it be over La Gomera. 
EXTREME CAUTION ! STAY SAFE, STAY AT HOME !

Update 5pm:
Last ferry will attempt sailing from La Gomera in half an hour. After that all ferry services to and from La Gomera will be suspended until further notice.

First thunderstorms forming just W of us at 4pm

Update 8pm:
There was a spell of less strong winds and both the Olsen and the Armas ferries decided to sail from Los Cristianos after all and they should arrive about now. 
In the past minutes winds have increased a lot again and a further reactivation of the front is expected later. So far the weather has behaved as predicted. 

Update 10pm:
The first Fred. Olsen ferry sailing which was to leave La Gomera at 7:30am has been cancelled.

Wednesday 11-12-13:

Update 1am:
Thunder and lightning nearby to W. and slowly approaching. Strong winds. It is beginning to rain. Rain radar:

Update 6am:
I was woken by thunder and lightning again. There was a lot of that plus wind all night and a little rain. All schools and colleges on Tenerife, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera will be closed today. Large areas of La Palma were without power last night.
The front is beginning to reactivate itself  right now and new thunderstorms are forming.
Winds have eased a little, but that they did several times before re-strengthening. It is beginning to rain again. We'll see what happens…   Echotop radar at 5:50 am :

Update 8:30 am:
The situation has improved and the worst seems to have passed without affecting La Gomera much. We just had a heavy shower but it only lasted five minutes. Winds have eased considerably but are expected to rise again later.
Ferry sailings are going back to normal. The Armas ferry sailed this morning and the Olsen ferry will resume scheduled sailings at 9am with the scheduled depature from Los Cristianos.

Update 10 am:
It has been raining fairly heavily and persistently here and the cold front is yet to come. This situation just keeps developing. At the moment the worst weather seems to be over Tenerife. On La Palma several houses were flooded and the Tijarafe weather station measured 96mm of rain in a relatively short time. La Gomera's capital San Sebastian had 27mm of rain during a thunderstorm. So far all warnings and alerts are maintained. There are reports of extremely heavy rain in parts of Tenerife this morning

Chart for today 11-12-13

Recent T-storms, radar image of 10am

Update 11 am:
Lightning amount recorded by the span. met service between 2am and 8am: 1564
Just a few minutes ago we had an extremely heavy downpour:

Update 1:30 pm:

The weather here in Valle Gran Rey has improved now and there is a bit of sunshine every now and again. Recent showers were much lighter and shorter.

However, there still are heavy showers out there and to the south-west some re-activation of cells of thunderstorms and heavy rain is taking place, while the cold front is coming in from the west. 

Caution: Warnings and alerts still apply and some have even been extended

The 'barranco' of Valle Gran Rey is running with plenty of water today

Update 5:30 pm:

Some good news at last: The wind warnings will be cancelled from 6 pm this evening. It has been almost calm here with a bit of sunshine for the past while, but skies are darkening again now. Ferries are back sailing to schedule.

Warnings of heavy showers and thunderstorms will remain active until late tomorow night, Thursday 12-12-13 (see top of sidebar Weather News for latest La Gomera warnings). The band of heavy showers and thunderstorms  is almost stationary, even expanding and moving back to west a bit. It is still re-activating itself while new pockets of heavy weather continue forming to the south-west. The warnings are at the highest level for Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The 'alerta maxima' issued by the Canary Islands' government, however will be cancelled from midnight tonight with a statement that very heavy downpours are still probable. Most schools will reopen tomorrow, except on Tenerife.

On Friday things should improve considerably according to all forecasts, and the Canary Islands should get back to their usual predominantly sunny, dry and warm weather.

It must be stressed, however, that all day tomorrow Thursday 21-12-12 the weather will remain very disturbed and unsettled and locally very heavy downpours and thunderstorms are possible. Sunny spells may be misleading. 

Tree blown down damaging 2 cars beside  'El Coco Loco' restaurant in Valle Gran Rey yesterday. © Diario de Avisos

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2013:

The cold front is now finally over the Canary Islands and the disturbance has re-activated to the south. Thunderstorms and heavy showers can still be expected today. Tomorrow we should have much better weather.

Last night an inter-islands flight arriving from Gran Canaria by airline Binter skidded off the runway at Tenerife North airport due to heavy rain. All 51 passengers and 4 crew were unhurt but had to leave the plane via the emergency exits. The airport was closed for a while and traffic was diverted to Tenerife South airport, which itself received 96mm of rain that day.
Caution on the roads: There are many minor rockfalls still happening, as is usual after heavy rain and/or strong winds

Funktop enhanced sat-pic of 6am this morning

FINAL update 10 pm:
Even though we just had another shower, the weather situation is improving rapidly. By tomorrow lunchtime we should be back to mostly sunny weather according to (almost) all forecasters. High pressure is moving back in. All warnings and alerts are cancelled from midnight tonight. Enjoy !
END OF THIS POST