Lashed by Leonardo, mashed by Marta - effects on Alcalá of a series of Atlantic storms
Two weeks ago I was moaning that it had been raining for weeks. But I didn't know then that the worst was still to come. Hot on the heels of Joseph and Kristin, Storm Leonardo hit the Iberian peninsular and northern Morocco last week with devastating effects across Andalucía, especially the province of Cadiz. It was soon followed by the equally vindictive Marta, and yesterday we were warned that Nils was on the way, but heading for northern Spain. Apparently this extreme weather is due mainly to an area of high pressure which has been parked over Scandinavia for several weeks. This has been blocking areas of low pressure with its mild wet weather from pushing across from the Atlantic, deflecting the jet stream further south and bringing unusually high levels of rainfall to the UK, western Europe and the Mediterranean. Winds of over 100 kpm lashed the Costa de la Luz last week, blocking roads with sand and destroying beach infrastructure. The beautiful mountain village of Gra...