Edition 188
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Friday, September 26, 2014
THE NIGHT THE RAINS CAME Electric storms hit after record highs
By ALEX TRELINSKI Large parts of the Costa Blanca and the Murcia region had a Monday to remember as the long hot summer ended with major cloudbursts and electrical storms that saw Torrevieja dumped with 40 litres of rain per square metre in just one hour. Localised flooding as well as dramatic thunder and lightning across local skies produced a level of “Gota Fria” intensity that had not been seen in a long while, with the greatest amount being in the late evening. Weather experts say that a vast rotating thunderstorm was created between Murcia and Orihuela, which led to the big downpours and electrical storms in the Vega Baja area, in addition to the big bursts of rain and wind that hit the region, coming in from the sea. The fall out varied from area to area, with Torrevieja leading with some 19 litres of rain falling per square metre in just 25 minutes, causing flooding in places like the Paseo de la Libertad and the Rambla Juan Mateo. 30 litres per hour fell in Orihuela City, whilst there was flooding in parts of Almoradi, San Isidro and Callosa de Segura, where a palm tree collapsed close
to the railway station. Fruit and vegetable crops were affected by a combination of torrential rain and hail. Other parts of the Costa Blanca region saw Elche hit by a big electrical storm, which caused a small bushfire in addition to localised street flooding, whilst areas
Lightning over Torrevieja
Pedro Grimao like Alcoy and Benidorm had only comparatively light rainfall, though the storms could easily be observed. Jorge Olcina, of the University of Alicante’s climatology department said that “the conditions are right for severe thunderstorms to form. The Mediterranean sea is so warm at the moment that storms can form and dump 30 or 40 litres in a few minutes." Heavy showers and storms continued in some areas during the week with an unsettled forecast for the weekend.
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