Three Kings Day marked by numerous wind-related incidents on Costa del Sol
Gusts of almost 80km/h brought down trees, Christmas decorations and street furniture in Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Estepona and Vélez
The Costa del Sol experienced the coldest Three Kings Day in recent years on 6 January. A drop in temperatures and strong winds led to about 20 incidents in Malaga province in the morning, as reported by the emergency services. Firefighters and police teams responded to callers' reports.
The weather conditions meant that many children did not get the chance to enjoy their presents outdoors. As the state meteorological agency (Aemet) had predicted, northerly winds brought a mass of arctic air to mainland Spain following the formation of a stationary storm over Scandinavia and a high pressure in the North Atlantic. This mix created the coldest day in Malaga province so far this winter.
In the morning, the official thermometer at Malaga Airport registered a maximum temperature of only 9.9C and a minimum of 5.2C. The port thermometer showed slightly milder values, although still very low for Malaga: 11.3C maximum and 7.1C minimum.
The situation was, logically, worse in the interior of the province. In the Antequera district, the maximum was slightly above 6C, with a minimum of 0.5C. The temperature in Ronda did not go over 4.3C, after a nighttime drop to -1.2C.
Wind-related incidents
Aemet registered a maximum gust of 77km/h in Alpandeire before 1pm on Tuesday. Flight operations at Malaga Airport were complicated by winds of 71km/h. For this reason, a yellow warning (low risk) was active on the Costa del Sol, in Malaga city, the Guadalhorce Valley and the Axarquía district until 6pm. Aemet's predictions for strong winds from 50 to 70km/h had already come true in the morning.
By midday, the emergency services had responded to around 20 incidents caused by the strong winds. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Most of the warnings were related to toppled trees, branches, Christmas decorations and even street furniture in Marbella, Estepona, Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Vélez-Málaga, among others. Some of the affected trees had fallen on top of parked cars.
