It may be August, typically one of the hottest months in Spain, but over the weekend temperatures in many parts of the country plummeted by 10C and fierce hail storms bombarded several towns.
A total of four regions in Spain have been put under orange alert for storms and heavy rains. These include the eastern part of Andalusia, Murcia and parts of Castilla-La Mancha and Aragón.
Some of the areas most affected were Murcia, Teruel and Cuenca in Castilla-La Mancha and the interior of the provinces Almería and Granada.
Atención granizo ⚠️
Nos llegan más vídeos de la granizada impresionante que ha caído hace unos minutos en la localidad de María (Almería).🎥 Vía José Antonio García Alcaina.
Datos al estación meteorólogica del Ayuntamiento de María
✅ https://t.co/MUB3j0Dt0w pic.twitter.com/7tMHZsHFpk
— AMETSE (@MeteoSE) August 25, 2024
As well as intense rain, there have been severe hail storms, with hailstones measuring the same size as two euro coins or even bigger.
Impresiónate la granizada que ha caído en #cañadajuncosa #cuenca#vaguada #tormentas #granizo
pic.twitter.com/qLciiZmsCX— Meteosojuela La Rioja (@meteosojuela) August 25, 2024
In the province of Albacete in Castilla-La Mancha, a total of 40 litres of rain per metre squared fell in just a few hours. And in the town of Nerpio, the temperature dropped from 28C to just 15C.
Menudo Granizo de gran tamaño me ha pillado en Puebla de Don Fabrique (Jaén) pic.twitter.com/SHkmUvIAD0
— ÁpiceDrones (@Meteoalicante1) August 25, 2024
In the town of Bronchales in Aragón, after the hail storm, intense rain fell – up to 44 litres per metre squared.
Una fuerte tormenta en la Sierra de Albarracín, dejó en la tarde del domingo entre 15 y 40 litros por metro cuadrado, con piedras de granizo de más de dos centímetros de diámetro que afectaron a huertos y algunos vehículos. pic.twitter.com/GJRwdIdau9
— Aragón TV (@aragontv) August 26, 2024
While in Cañada Juncosa in Castilla-La Mancha people were forced to take shelter in their homes from the huge pellets of ice.
¡#Tormentas en el interior del sureste de la #PenínsulaIbérica! Esta tarde (25/08/2024), este es el tamaño del #granizo que ha caído en el entorno de la Carretera A-317 entre #CañadasDeCanepla (#Almería) y #PueblaDeDonFadrique (#Granada). Imágenes: Salva Nadal. pic.twitter.com/eScLRkLss3
— MeteOrihuela (@MeteOrihuela) August 25, 2024
The Balearic Islands, which suffered destructive storms less than two weeks earlier, also reported stormy weather, with northeast winds of 40 to 50 km/h and waves of up to two metres on the island of Mallorca.
🌩️ Ayer domingo las tormentas en el nodo interprovincial de #Murcia, #Albacete, #Granada y #Almería fueron muy severas, registrándose granizo de gran diámetro. El mayor acumulado fue de 30.7 l/m2 en el Camping de Las Nogueras (#Nerpio, #Albacete). pic.twitter.com/LTVMJ3IeNH
— David Espín (@David_E8) August 26, 2024
There has also been intense rain in the regions of Valencia and some parts of Catalonia.
Hailstones are becoming increasingly large during storms in Spain as a result of climate change, a 2024 joint investigation by universities in Madrid, Valladolid and Seville concluded.
Supercélula desplazándose desde las tierras altas de Caravaca (Región de Murcia) hasta la provincia de Almería. Ha dejado granizo de un tamaño considerable en algunos puntos. 25/8/24 pic.twitter.com/POhXy3cyH3
— Mario Navarro (@Mario17N) August 25, 2024
The combination of marine heatwaves with climate change can lead to massive amounts of convective energy in the atmosphere, which fuels the formation of supercells, huge rotating thunderstorms.
In 2022, a toddler died after being struck on the head by a hailstone with a 10-centimetre diameter during a violent storm in Girona, Catalonia. Hailstones of 12cm were found during that meteorological event, the biggest on record in the country.
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