Yahoo News Amber weather warning for ‘meteotsunami’ issued for Spanish holiday island
Holidaymakers have been warned of a “meteotsunami” - a weather phenomena which causes a sudden rise in sea levels - at the Spanish island of Menorca. An amber weather warning has been issued for Menorca by Spain’s national weather agency AEMET.
The warning, which has been categorised as an “important risk”, is in place from 6pm on Wednesday June 19 until 8am on Thursday June 20 and there is a 40-70per cent probability that it will happen. AEMET warns of “possible rissagas in Menorca”, ‘rissaga’ being the Catalan word for meteotsunami.
A meteotsunami occurs when large waves are caused by disturbances in atmospheric pressure, often from sudden weather events such as thunderstorms. It’s different from a tsunami which is due to seismic activity, such as earthquakes under the seabed.
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Back in July 2018 a meteotsunami was recorded in both Majorca and Menorca which sent waves crashing into hotels, bars and restaurants along the coast. It swept away sunbeds and moored boast in the process. The weather phenomena can occur across the world.
Elsewhere in mainland Spain yellow coastal warnings have been issued for Almeria warning of strong winds and waves of up to three metres. The warnings are in place from 4pm on Wednesday until midnight.
Yellow warnings for heavy rain and storms have also been issued for the south west of Spain, areas in the north west of the country and in some northern mountainous areas. It should remain sunny, with some cloud, for large parts of the country on Wednesday, including central Spain and the Mediterranean coastline.
