British tourists warned to brace themselves as Hurricane Kirk remnants batter Spain
UK holidaymakers are being warned by Spain's national weather agency as the remnants of Hurricane Kirk are poised to hit the country.
Aemet, the Spanish meteorological service, has forecast strong winds and torrential rain to lash vast swathes of Spain today, with the north-west predicted to take the hardest hit. Forecasters have warned of "very strong gusts of wind" and intense rainfall.
The Southwestern Asturia region is bracing for winds reaching 120km/h, leading to amber alerts for "violent north-west wind" along the coasts of Cantabria and Biscay. Central Spain is anticipating winds up to 80km/h, while the northern coast prepares for turbulent weather, with amber warnings issued.
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Along the Mediterranean shore, areas including Almeria, Castellon, Tarragona, and Barcelona are on yellow coastal alert. The Balearic Islands, counting Ibiza, Majorca, and Mallorca among them, face a yellow warning too, expecting force 7 winds (60km/h) and waves that could surge to 3m.
For Wednesday, October 9, Aemet has alerted: "Former hurricane Kirk is expected to be over the northwest of the peninsula, leaving a predominance of cloudy or overcast skies with precipitation advancing from west to east and affecting most of the Peninsula. Less abundant precipitation is expected the further east it goes, occurring weakly and occasionally in the far east and the Balearic Islands, and not expected to reach the southeastern tip of the peninsula.", reports the Mirror.
The report stated that the rainfall will intensify, potentially becoming strong and/or persistent with a chance of storms in the Pyrenees, Cantabrian area, west of the Central System and Galicia, particularly in its western half where the highest accumulations are anticipated, according to the Manchester Evening News. The forecasters also emphasised: "The wind will be the most significant phenomenon of the day. In the eastern Cantabrian Sea there will be a gale turning from south to northwest. It will blow strongly from the south and southwest in most of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, with a westerly wind in the Strait and Alboran, and a tendency to turn to a westerly component in the rest."
"It is expected to reach strong and/or very strong gusts in most of the territory, less likely in the interior of the extreme southwest, and except in the northeast where it will be weak from the southeast. It will be more intense in the Cantabrian Sea, the northwest quadrant and the Pyrenees, and may reach hurricane-force gusts in parts of Galicia, the north of the Iberian Peninsula, the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian area, especially in its mountains. ".