Yellow alerts activated in the Canary Islands due to effects of Storm Nelson
The Canary Islands are placed under various weather alerts this Thursday and also on Good Friday due to the impact of Storm Nelson.
The effects are anticipated to include strong gusts of wind, rough sea conditions, and notably heavy rainfall, particularly on the island of La Palma, as reported by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Wind:
On Thursday, Storm Nelson is expected to trigger yellow wind warnings across five islands.
Tenerife: Northwestern winds, primarily affecting the midlands of the metropolitan area, with peak gusts reaching up to 70 kilometers per hour.
La Palma: Winds shifting from west to northwest, with maximum gusts of 70 km/h in both the eastern and western parts of the island. Peak gusts of 80 km/h are forecasted for high-altitude areas, possibly reaching 90 km/h.
La Gomera: Westerly winds predominantly impacting midlands and summits, with maximum gusts of 70 km/h.
El Hierro: Westerly winds turning northwest, particularly affecting summits and the northeast slope, with maximum gusts of 80 km/h, possibly reaching 90 km/h on summits.
Gran Canaria: Maximum gusts of 70 km/h, with westerly winds mainly affecting midlands.
Rainfall
La Palma is also under a yellow warning for heavy showers, especially likely in the northern half by day's end, with an expected hourly rainfall accumulation of 15 mm, primarily impacting western and northern slopes.
El Hierro faces an active risk of rain, particularly on northern slopes, with an hourly accumulated precipitation of 15 mm.
Coastal Phenomena
Yellow warnings are issued for La Palma and El Hierro due to combined northwest seas generating waves of 4 to 5 meters, and for Tenerife due to west or southwest winds of 50 to 61 km/h (force 7) offshore on the north coast.
Based on Aemet's forecast, the Canary Islands government has declared a coastal phenomena alert across the archipelago and a wind pre-alert for Tenerife, La Palma, and El Hierro.
Good Friday weather in the Canary Islands
Tomorrow, La Palma and the northeast of El Hierro and Tenerife will be under a yellow warning for intense showers in the early morning, along with very strong northwest gusts on the summits of La Palma and in the northeast midlands of El Hierro. Localized very strong northwesterly winds are also anticipated in high areas of Tenerife.
Moreover, the yellow warning for adverse coastal conditions extends to the north of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura. On La Palma and El Hierro, this warning will be heightened to orange.
