Spain’s Met Office issues amber weather alert for Costa del Sol

The arrival of a storm front this Sunday, 13 March, to the southwest of the Spanish mainland will bring with it heavy and generalised rainfall throughout Spain, according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). It is expected to arrive in the afternoon and remain stationary in the southern regions during the first days of next week, leaving significant rainfall in Andalucía and the central areas, according to Aemet's forecast.

For now, the State agency has activated an amber alert in Malaga for heavy rain. It will apply from midnight on Sunday until 12 noon on Monday in the Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga city Valle del Guadalhorce areas, where up to 80mm cold fall in 12 hours and 30mm in one hour.

In addition, Antequera and Ronda are on yellow alerts until midday on Monday. Accumulations of up to 40mm in 12 hours and 15mm could be registered.

On Tuesday, Aemet considers it likely that the showers will subside from north to south, but they will continue to be heavy in parts of the south of the peninsula, especially in Andalucía, while temperatures will rise significantly across much of the country. The instability will be accompanied by an easterly component wind, with strong or very strong intervals in eastern areas of the peninsula, which will bring with it an air mass from Africa with dust in suspension, which will cause more precipitation, in this case accompanied by mud. Likewise, visibility will be reduced due to haze, while the intense easterly wind will leave make the Mediterranean sea choppy.

On Wednesday there is a probability that the storm will move to the east and cause instability in that half of the country.

Aemet has said that this type of weather situation is accompanied by "a high degree of uncertainty" since small variations in the path of the storm can have an impact with significant changes in the intensity and location of rainfall.