Malaga takes a short break from the rains after receiving up to 160mm in parts of the province

The cold drop ('Dana') that has been active in the province of Malaga for the past few days will take a break today, after discharging up to 160mm inland in a single day. Due to the Costa del Sol mostly remaining dry, the official rain gauge of Aemet (Spain's state meteorological agency) located at Malaga Airport didn't record any data. However, it is estimated that, if it had, four consecutive days like yesterday would have been enough to reach the historical average (640mm in the 1991-2010 reference period).

The Dana acted as expected, discharging large amounts of water in some areas while barely wetting the ground just a few kilometres away. Luckily, this time it affected the areas that needed it the most - the upper Guadalhorce where the reservoirs that supply Malaga city are located.

Since last Friday (Día de Andalucía) until 8am this Tuesday 4 March, the Guadalhorce, Conde and Guadalteba reservoirs (together with the other major reservoir, La Concepción near Marbella, which supplies the western Costa del Sol) held 24 million cubic metres, surpassing 187 million cubic metres (up from 171 the day before the start of this cold drop episode began). This is equivalent to the water needed for more than six months of net consumption in the city of Malaga.

The reserves are expected to continue rising, both because of the runoff and the rainfall that will be discharged throughout this week. The current 'dana' will be replaced by an Atlantic storm, which will leave a good amount of water between Thursday and Sunday.

Juan de Dios del Pino, Aemet's delegate in Andalucía, stated that Tuesday and Wednesday will be less humid as the Dana weakens, although showers are not ruled out. However, it is expected that it will reactivate on Thursday, once again strengthened by the residual effects of the cold drop coming from the Canary Islands.

The Atlantic storm is expected to be active from Friday at least until Sunday. "It will leave rainfall starting in Huelva and extending to the whole of Andalucía. The rains will be of a different nature from those during the 'dana' - widespread and persistent." It is expected that more than 100mm will accumulate in some places over the course of this week. "Together, the two phenomena will result in significant rainfall."

The European forecast model predicts that the area where the most water will accumulate (up to 120mm) is located between Marbella, Estepona and the upper Guadalhorce Valley - precisely where the reservoirs are located. Del Pino said that it is even possible that the rains will extend into the first days of next week, particularly on Monday.

Monday 3 March saw heavy rainfall in localised parts of Malaga province, especially in the upper Guadalhorce and the Serranía de Ronda areas. The Junta de Andalucía's Hidrosur network recorded the heaviest rainfall in the River Turón, in Ardales, with over 161mm, followed by Pujerra (108), La Encantada (84), the Conde de Guadalhorce reservoir (73), the Guadalteba (73), Casarabonela (67) and the Rio Grande (52).

The Fuente de Piedra lake in the north of the province collected 32mm, which should support the next flamingo nesting season.

The province's water reserves have grown spectacularly, especially in the Guadalhorce and the Costa del Sol. In the latter, La Concepción near Marbella is already at over 73% of its capacity, with 42 million cubic metres, according to data collected from Hidrosur.

As for the system supplying Malaga city and the Guadalhorce valley, the situation is as follows: the one with the largest amount of water is the Conde de Guadalhorce, with 36.5 million cubic metres, at 55%; followed by the Guadalteba, with 36.4 million cubic metres (at 24%), and the Guadalhorce (18 million cubic metres, at 14.5%). The levels at Casasola and El Limonero have barely changed (11.4 and 6.9 million cubic metres, respectively). This volume guarantees more than a year and a half's water supply.

The La Viñuela reservoir in Axarquia has seen minimal gains, currently holding 36.1 million cubic metres (at 22%). In total, the province has 187.5 million cubic metres (31% of its capacity). The trend is clearly upwards and will continue to rise in the upcoming hours and days.