Barcelona woke up to a red alert for extreme rainfall in eight regions, including the Barcelonès. Civil Protection issued an ES-Alert emergency message yesterday urging the public to exercise extreme caution, although no restrictions on movement or school closures have been implemented at this time.
According to data collected by Meteocat and AEMET, torrential rains could drop more than 40 liters per square meter in half an hour and exceed 180 liters in three hours in several parts of the province of Barcelona. In the Alt Penedès region, extreme rainfall of more than 100 liters per square meter has already been recorded.
In addition, Meteocat activated the highest alert level this afternoon due to the risk of tornadoes, wind gusts exceeding 90 km/h, and hail larger than 2 centimeters in the Maresme and Vallès Oriental regions.
Faced with the possibility of a collapse of the rail network, Renfe has suspended high-speed and medium-distance service until at least 11:00 a.m. Trains connecting Barcelona with Valencia and Zaragoza have been canceled. At the same time, five Rodalies lines (R2 Sud, R2 Nord, R3, R4, and R8) are experiencing delays and speed restrictions for safety reasons.
The Barcelona Metro is also experiencing some service disruptions at certain stations as a result of the storm: service has been suspended on some platforms at the Sants, Liceu, and Rambla Just Oliveras stations.
Flooding on the roadway has forced the complete closure of the Ronda de Dalt in the direction of Llobregat. There have been other traffic delays due to excess water and related accidents on the C-58 and the A-2. Air traffic has also been affected by the storm, with more than 150 flights at El Prat Airport experiencing delays and around 90 flights canceled for safety reasons.
Authorities have also expressed concern about the possibility of the Anoia River overflowing, which has forced the suspension of local activities. Access to the Besòs River Park has also been prohibited.
It is expected that, around 3:00 p.m., the core of the downpours will have moved away from the Barcelona metropolitan area and will shift northward, concentrating in the province of Girona, where there could be episodes of hail and thunderstorms.
