Almost all the communities and the Autonomous City of Ceuta, with the exception of the Canary Islands, Navarra and Melilla, are under a meteorological warning for wind, rough seas, rain and snow on Monday, the heaviest day of storm Herminia.
The most serious warning, red, the maximum, concerns rough seas in Galicia, where a yellow warning, the lowest of the three, for wind and snow is also in force. The orange level, the second stage of the Meteoalerta system, is in force in Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Basque Country and Valencia.
Yellow colour is observed in the Balearic Islands, Castile and León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, the Community of Madrid, La Rioja and Ceuta. Ruben del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), said on Monday:
“Erminia is causing very strong gale force winds with gusts exceeding 120 kilometres per hour in the northern third of the peninsula, especially in mountainous and coastal areas. In Picos de Europa they exceeded 150 kilometres.”
In addition, since Sunday afternoon, the coast of Galicia has been experiencing a very strong storm, with waves that could exceed eight or ten metres this Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday morning. Waves could also reach eight metres in the Bay of Biscay.
On Monday, rain will fall over almost the entire peninsula, except in the Mediterranean zone, with heavy precipitation in Galicia, western Castile and Leon and around the central system, with snow levels reaching around 800 metres by the end of the day.
From Tuesday the wind will subside and the storm at sea will diminish, but the weather does not give respite: on Wednesday a new squall will arrive, as yet unnamed, which will again cause very strong winds and a new storm at sea. The main difference is that this squall will be accompanied by a cold northerly wind that will cause heavy snowfall in mountainous areas, and on Thursday also in lower areas, as the snow level will be only 500 or 700 metres.
Herminia will calm down by the weekend
The situation will stabilise over the weekend, with not too much precipitation, although rain is possible in the Cantabrian and Mediterranean Seas. Temperatures will generally be slightly higher, but overnight frosts are expected.
The sea will still be stormy on Tuesday, with waves reaching five to eight metres in Galicia and Cantabria.
On Wednesday, the arrival of a new deep squall will again cause very strong winds, especially from the northwest of the peninsula, where in mountainous and coastal areas it could even be hurricane force, and a new sea storm with waves that could exceed six or eight metres on the northern coasts.
In the rest of the area, the wind will also be felt with slightly less strength, and most of the peninsula, except for the Mediterranean area, will see another day of rain.
