Urgent Spain storm warning as tourists among those killed in extreme weather

Deadly Storm Nelson has made landfall in Spain and is expected to continue battering the country for a number of days.

Four tourists are among those who have been killed in the extreme weather, including a 62-year-old British man on holiday with his wife.

It’s understood he died after falling into the sea in the village and marina of San Esteban de Pravia, 45 minutes from the coal port of Gijon in northern Spain, on Thursday.

A spokesman for the local Civil Guard said: “The victim was a British man who was in the area on holiday and normally resides in the UK. He was enjoying a walk along the breakwater with his wife and was swept off his feet after approaching the edge.”

Irish holidaymakers heading to Spain over the Easter holidays are being advised to prepare for extreme weather. This includes staying informed about weather forecasts, heeding advice from local authorities and avoiding unnecessary travel during periods of severe weather.

The Spanish meteorological service AEMET has issued a spate of weather warnings – including some Status Orange – for strong winds, coastal flooding, heavy rainfall and even snow storms.

People walk in the rain on June 6, 2023, in Frontera, El Hierro, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

It has forecast “abundant rainfall”, “very strong gusts” and “a drop in temperatures”.

Giving an update on the weather for this weekend, it said: “March 29 to 31 will be marked by the influence of Storm Nelson, which will bring a storm of wind and abundant rainfall to the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Thus, there will be widespread rainfall, which may be locally strong or persistent on Friday in Cádiz, Sierra Morena and the Pyrenees, and the rest of the weekend on the Andalusian Mediterranean coasts. Precipitation may occasionally be accompanied by storms and will be in the form of snow in the mountain systems of the Peninsula.

“Temperatures will drop on Friday in the western half of the peninsula and on Saturday in the eastern half and in the Balearic Islands.

A large cloud over the sea of the town of Andratx, in Mallorca, Spain, 27 August 2023

“The winds will be intense from the southwest throughout the weekend, with strong intervals on the Andalusian Atlantic coast and Mediterranean coasts, and with very strong gusts in Andalusia, the southeast and the Iberian system on Friday and Sunday, and in the east of Castilla-La Mancha and in the Balearic Islands on Sunday.

“In the Canary Islands, due to the passage of a front, there will be rainfall, which may be locally heavy in the north of the western islands, accompanied by very strong gusts from the west and northwest in the western islands and Gran Canaria. The rest of the weekend the winds will be moderate and there will be occasional weak rainfall.”

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