Storm Charles leaves up to 80mm of rain in Malaga province, but with hardly any incidents

Aemet (the state meteorological agency) had issued an amber alert for heavy rain and strong winds, with rainfall of up to 80mm and wind speeds of up to 90km/h.

In Andalucía, the cyclone took a heavy toll on the provinces of Huelva, Cadiz and Seville, where it formed a storm at sea and brought very strong winds and rainfall of over 120mm. From there, it moved northwards across the mainland in a matter of a few hours.

In Malaga, Charles was a long time coming. It had been drizzling since the early hours of the morning and the rain only intensified slightly from 5pm onwards: first in the western part of the province, in Ronda, Estepona and Marbella. It then swept in from west to east and from 6pm onwards it was directly over the city of Malaga and the Guadalhorce Valley.

As a result, rainfall totals briefly reached 80mm in Algatocín, in the Genal Valley, according to a private weather station of the Meteoclimatic collaborative network.

The regional government's Hidrosur network recorded the highest official figure on the Guadalmina river, at 70mm. Furthermore, according to Hidrosur's records, around 66mm were recorded on the Guadiaro river (on the border with Cadiz), 65mm on the Guadalmansa river and 63mm in Cortes de la Frontera. In Alhaurín de la Torre, the figure was 52mm. In the city of Malaga, although it rained continuously there too, barely 12-15mm were recorded.

The La Concepción reservoir, which supplies the Costa del Sol, has regained some of its contents, following a level drop to 45 per cent after the summer. On Wednesday, the reservoir received substantial inflows from the Guadalmina and Guadalmansa transfer channels, as well as into the main reservoir (between 57 and 70mm).

The wind was not as strong as expected. The amber warning had forecast gusts of up to 90km/h in Ronda and Antequera. In the end, the day's highest wind speed was 59km/h at the mountain pass in Malaga city; 58km/h in Fuente de Piedra, 50km/h at the airport and 46km/h in Ronda. A private weather station in Archidona recorded a maximum of 67km/h.

In addition, the meteorological centre issued a yellow warning during the night of Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday (from 10pm to 4am) due to coastal phenomena, following a forecast of southwesterly winds at sea of 50 to 60km/h (force 7).

There were a few incidents in the province on Wednesday, although these were few and far between and generally minor.

Some residents reported flooded premises in Marbella (Avenida Gabriel García Mázquez), as well as a landslide (without any rockfall) on the MA-8304 in Jubrique and a flooded basement in Torremolinos and another in Estepona.

Once again, Malaga's trees were battered by the wind, with several trees and branches falling. One tree ended up crashing into a balcony on Calle Juan de Grande in Malaga city and several palm trees, lampposts and road signs also fell on the seafront promenade in Torremolinos, as well as in Coín and Archidona.

The episodes of storms Bruna and Charles have been isolated and, although they have brought significant rainfall in some parts of the province, they will not continue over the coming days.

This Thursday, Aemet forecasts that temperatures will rise again, with a predicted maximum of 24C, due to the influence of a westerly wind, which may bring a light autumnal land breeze. The minimum will also be high, at 16C.

Looking ahead to the weekend, stable weather will return, with unusually high temperatures for this time of year: a maximum of around 23C (even 25C in some places) and a minimum of 15C. No significant rainfall events are currently forecast in the short term.

The situation was quite different when Storm Charles passed through western Andalucía, where it caused severe weather with wind gusts of over 120km/h, heavy rain and high waves. The regional government activated the flood emergency plan and sent mass alerts via ES-Alert to residents of towns along the coast of Huelva and Cadiz.

In Huelva, rainfall totalling up to 120mm, combined with strong winds, led to the suspension of face-to-face lessons in coastal towns. In Huelva city, a woman was hospitalised after being struck by a large branch. Flooding, fallen palm trees and traffic disruptions caused by fallen trees were reported in the municipalities of Punta Umbría, Ayamonte and Isla Cristina.

Meanwhile, Seville recorded the highest number of emergency calls, concerning puddles on roads, flooded garages and branches falling onto cars, with Seville city and the Aljarafe area particularly affected. Meanwhile, in Cadiz, schools along the coast were closed in anticipation of hurricane-force winds and rough seas. Emergency services dealt with falling cornices, branches and signage, as well as disruptions to maritime traffic in the Strait of Gibraltar.

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