Amber weather alerts issued for heavy rain and storms in Malaga province this weekend: these are the most critical hours

The last weekend of the year is threatening to be very unpleasant weather wise in Malaga. Spain's state meteorological agency (Aemet) has raised the warning for heavy rainfall in the province to amber with up to 80mm expected to fall in 12 hours. The alert will be at this level in the Ronda, western Costa del Sol and Guadalhorce valley areas, while in Antequera and the Axarquia a lower warning will be in force, at yellow level, for amounts that could reach 60mm. The episode will begin at three o'clock this Saturday - except in the Axarquia which will come into force at 8pm - and will intensify in the last hours of the day and early hours of Sunday, when peaks well above 20mm litres per square metre in an hour are expected.

The heavy rain warning does not come alone. Storms are also expected - with "very strong gusts from the east", according to Aemet - and coastal phenomena along the entire coastline. In this case, the alert is expected at midday and Levante winds are forecast with gusts of between 50 and 60 kilometres per hour (force 7) and waves of 2 to 3 metres.

Temperatures will be as low as 9C this Saturday in Malaga city, where the thermometers will not climb above 16 degrees. The mercury will be as low as just 2C in Ronda and 3C in Antequera. In Marbella and Vélez, the minimum temperatures will be around 10 and 7 degrees respectively.

On Sunday, the scenario will be very similar. At least at the start of the day. Malaga will remain in check with heavy rain forecast until 10am. In the Ronda, western Costa del Sol and Guadalhorce valley areas the warning will be amber with the forecast of up to 80mm in 12 hours. From 4am the warning will be downgraded to yellow, the same as in the Axarquia and Antequera.

The forecast for the next few days is for rain until almost the end of the year, when the outlook should clear up somewhat.

As a result, the weather forecasts are looming like dark clouds over this weekend's leisure and shopping plans, but they promise a return for Malaga's reservoirs, which are still feeling the effects of the run-off from the latest rains.

In just over a week, the province's seven reservoirs have seen their reserves increase by 15 million cubic metres. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of a population of 225,000 people. The rate of inflow from the tail end of the reservoirs is steady.

The water in storage already exceeds 292 million cubic metres, which is almost half of Malaga province's reservoir capacity.

The Guadalteba is on its way to 82 million cubic metres. It has the largest volume, closely followed by La Viñuela, with almost 74. The third largest is the Guadalhorce, on the verge of 47 million cubic metres. El Limonero and Casasola, which are flood abatement reservoirs but are also strategic reserves in case of supply needs, store 11 and 9 million cubic metres respectively.

As things stand, the situation is very different from this time last year. The seven reservoirs barely contained 171 million cubic metres in a province still plagued by droughts and where the storms of October and November had given a respite.

As for the watercourses, there are no warnings at any point in the province. The highest flow, with more than 3,000 litres per second, is recorded at the Paredones weir, downstream of the Guadalhorce system, where the branch that goes to irrigation and the branch that is intended to supply Malaga city meet.