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

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.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms in Canaries tomorrow

 While it is warm, sunny and very dry with high pressure over Ireland, the Canary Islands can expect storm 'Olivier' with wind, heavy rain and thunderstorms tomorrow Wednesday, April 9th 2025. Status orange warnings have been issued by the Spanish metereological service for heavy downpours, which could dump up to 30mm of rain in just one hour. Thunderstorm warnings have also been issued, with falls  of hail possible, and  in the western Canaries there are status yellow wind warnings of southwesterly gale gusts. 

The warnings are valid from tomorrow and begin at different times in each island, so please click the official AEMET.ES website for more detail (in English). All warnings expire later on Thursday, but further showers can be expected over the following days as low pressure close to the Canary Islands becomes almost stationary and is forecast to dissipate only slowly.

it it advisable to be cautious over the coming days and hiking and other outdoor activities in the mountains and ravines should not be undertaken . Travel should be avoided, but if you need to drive then be very careful. Rockfalls and landslides can be expected, which might happen as a result of loosening material due to temperature changes, erosion and especially during and after rain. Don't be deceived by longer sunny intervals as the sun can add to the erosive process when rocks and soil expand in the sun's heat after cracks and crevices have been filled with debris by precipitation.

All a bit unusual for this time of the year and not great news for those on holidays in the Canary Islands, but the rain is very badly needed and wanted by locals.

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.

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.

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...

A spell of windy and wet weather this Saturday

A cold front associated with a low pressure system to the north is approaching the Canary Islands and will affect us this Saturday Nov. 17th 2018. The western Canaries will be first affected and the eastern islands later. Mainly westerly winds will become strong and will gust to gale force on high ground, while rainfall amounts will vary, with some areas possibly receiving some heavier falls.

Anyway, not a day suitable for hiking in the mountains and not a day for the beach either (incl. Sunday - see previous post). Due to the expected adverse weather conditions the arts and crafts fair in La Playa (Valle Gran Rey) has been cancelled.

In La Gomera the weather should improve later Saturday  while Sunday and Monday should bring just a few well scattered light showers and longer sunny spells, best in the south. Maxima will be in the low to mid 20sºC in the southern coastal regions.

Cold spell in Canary Islands set to continue

Icicles on a special carnival edition Dorada beer bottle. Well, the ice wasn't  due to the weather...

The cold spell which lasted all week in the Canary Islands is set to continue well into the coming week. There was some snow in the mountains of Gran Canaria, and the peak of Tenerife's Mount Teide is wearing a white winter coat. Even lower areas of Lanzarote had a sprinkling of soft hail, leaving the black lava with a white dusting just briefly. The fresh to strong northerly winds are continuing to bring cold air down over the Canaries with some days a bit warmer than others, but generally the cold airflow with spells of scattered showers is set to continue according to forecasts. 
In La Gomera's mountains above 3.000 feet the temperature stayed in single figures all week and the lowest recorded at the weather station on the second-highest peak here, the Alto de Igualero at about 4.500 ft, was only 2ºC while the highest temperature there during the week just briefly reached 6.1ºC. It is a different story down by the sea in the southern resorts of La Gomera where the temperature can reach 20ºC, but only in sunny spots sheltered from the northerly wind which blows down from the cold mountain regions. Nights are colder than normally, too, but the sea temperature will be around 20ºC keeping it milder near coasts even at night and making an ice cold beer a feasible option.
Daily weather updates on top of right sidebar >

Wind turbine blown down

The blown down wind turbine near Epina (Images: gomeranoticias.com)

The recent gales and storm force winds have blown down one of La Gomera's two wind tubines situated on a high ridge near the village of Epina in the island's west. The two windmills there were erected in 1996 and ironically the one destroyed had only recently been refurbished, while the other which survived the gales was turned off at the time of the incident awaiting refurbishment. The two wind turbines generated over 500 kw/h of electricity last year. The strong winds gusted over 100 km/h in La Gomera's mountains several times in recent days and for the next few days it will stay very windy and gusty in exposed areas. Warnings of strong winds gusting 75 km/h have been issued for Friday Feb.2nd 2018, and for Saturday. For Saturday there's an additional warning of rough seas. However, even today it is very windy here again and the weather station on La Gomera's highest peak recorded a wind gust of 93 km/h at 9:40 am.

Cruise ship visit hampered by gales

The AidaVita passing Valle Gran Rey this morning

The very windy weather has delayed the arrival in San Sebastian de La Gomera of Italian-registered cruise ship AidaVita. The ship had sailed from Gran Canaria as scheduled last night on a course directly to La Gomera's capital to arrive there at 8 am, but due to the combination of heavy seas and gale force winds was unable to berth in the harbour. AidaVita then sailed on along the northern coastline and is now completing a full circle around La Gomera, having just passed the south-western town of Valle Gran Rey and is rescheduled to arrive in San Sebastian at 12 noon, but current weather conditions aren't much better...
The highest wind speeds in the Canaries this morning were recorded at the weather station on La Gomera's highest peak Alto de Garajonay, with a sustained wind speed of 86 km/h at 8:30 am and a gust of 134 km/h at 8:10 am.
UPDATE:
AidaVita tried again to berth in San Sebastian de La Gomera just after 12 noon. The pilot came aboard, but the attempts to dock were given up before 1pm. The pilot was taken off again, and the cruise ship sailed away from La Gomera.

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 !

Very breezy

Winds will be strong to gale force today, Friday Dec.30th, in La Gomera and a warning has been issued by the meteorological service for gusts of 75 km/h or more. The weather station in the Agulo area which is located at the visitor's centre in Juego de Bolas has already recorded a gust of 94 km/h at 8:20 this morning and winds are strong and very gusty in Valle Gran Rey as I write. The winds will be mainly from a south-easterly direction and the warning is valid until tomorrow lunchtime. Winds should then begin to ease gradually over the rest of the weekend.

Calima sailing

Calima was an unwelcome Christmas visitor late yesterday when the air became loaded with dust from the Sahara in the strong easterly wind. This time of the year it is a cool Calima as the desert air is cold now and there's even been snow in some lower parts of the Atlas mountain range in North Africa. The forecast is for more of the same for another few days before the air will finally clear over La Gomera. See regularly updated weather column on top right.

Above image was taken just a short while ago and in the dusty haze you can barely make out the Dutch sailing vessel 'Morgenster', a converted former herring lugger, heading for Vueltas harbour in Valle Gran Rey, where another larger sailing ship, the three-masted 'Alexander von Humboldt II' (the beer ship), is already berthed.

A breezy Christmas 2016

A wind warning has been issued by the meteorological service valid from early today, Saturday, December 24th 2016, until Monday 25th of Dec.:

Strong to gale force easterly winds will affect La Gomera (and most areas of the Canary Islands) with winds gusting to 80 km/h or more in exposed areas, especially in the mountains.

While there are only light breezes here in Valle Gran Rey at the moment, the weather station on La Gomera's second highest peak, the Alto de Igualero at about 4500 ft, has already recorded a gust of 71 km/h just after 8 am this morning.

Drive with caution and be careful generally as sudden gusts and resulting debris can be expected.

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.

Air ambulance defies strong winds

The air ambulance was called to the harbour of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, at lunchtime yesterday after an elderly tourist with a heart condition became ill aboard an excursion boat, obliging the vessel to return to port. The emergency services had been called who sent a medical team, and the air ambulance also arrived despite the very windy conditions experienced yesterday. The patient was removed from the excursion boat under medical supervision and brought to the air ambulance which then transferred the seriously ill tourist to the university hospital on Tenerife. 

It is always amazing to watch the skill of the helicopter pilots of the emergency services, especially in the very windy conditions experienced yesterday which forced the chopper to come in at a very low altitude at what appeared to me a wobbly, crazy angle and later having to take off again in the dusty and gusty conditions.

Windy weather

Palm trees under power lines tossed in the wind during yesterday's power outage

The windy weather was strongly felt on La Gomera yesterday. In Valle Gran Rey the electricity went just before 4pm and the outage lasted until it became dark at 7pm. A large area of high pressure in the central Atlantic is bordering low pressure over North Africa and the resulting tighter isobars are causing strong winds and gales at times over the Canary Islands. This weather pattern is set to continue until Saturday and there are warnings of strong north-easterly winds, at times veering northerly, occasionally reaching gale force with gusts of 70 km/h. There's another warning of 3-4m seas, especially on exposed coasts.

Overall nothing dramatic or unusual for this time of the year, but always bear in mind that the steep mountainsides and ravines of La Gomera often exacerbate the situation, creating additional local turbulance. Sometimes under the shelter of a mountain there's only a breeze felt of the wind and a few dozen yards further on it can blow a brutal gale at the same time.