Aemet warns of 'significant danger' from 'Dana' storm on its way to Spain

The arrival of a new 'Dana' high-level depression (cold drop) in Spain has prompted state meteorological agency Aemet to issue severe weather warnings in several regions in the north of the country. From this Friday onwards, the phenomenon is expected to cause heavy thunderstorms, large hail and a sharp drop in temperatures.

The north of the country will be particularly affected today due to the liklehood of "flash floods in valleys, ravines and gullies", hail of more than two centimetres and very strong winds, posing "significant risks". Several provinces in the area have seen yellow and amber risk alerts activated. Those with an active amber alert are: La Rioja, Álava, Guipúzcoa, Navarra, Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Burgos, Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza.

These areas could experience "downpours of rain of 30 to 40mm in an hour".

This instability will contribute to a drop in temperatures in many regions. In some provinces such as Seville, Madrid, Cantabria, and Pamplona, ​​temperatures could drop to 10C lower than at the beginning of this week.

Without being able to fully confirm the forecast, Aemet has stated that the 'Dana' depression will leave on Sunday, replaced by a stabilisation of the atmosphere.

Temperatures are expected to rise in many of the affected regions, more noticeably in the centre and south of the Spanish mainland, where they will return to over 35C by the start of next week.