Rainfall in March Reaches 148 Litres, Over Triple the Usual Amount

In the first 24 days of March, abundant rainfall has resulted in 148 litres per square metre across Spain, which is approximately three and a half times the usual amount for this period, according to Rubén del Campo, spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).

"With these figures, even if not another drop falls for the rest of the month, March 2025 would already be the third wettest March in the historical series, which began in 1961. Only March 2013 with 160 litres per square metre and March 2018 with 165 litres per square metre are ahead," the spokesperson noted, adding, "With what we have accumulated, we are not far from those figures, but it is also true that in the remaining days, it will not rain much. We will have to wait until the end of the month to see if it finally ranks third or if March 2025 surpasses one or both of these years to become the wettest."

These three long weeks of March rain have helped reverse the situation of the national water reserves, which in just 24 days have increased from 58% to 71%, with an additional 7,500 cubic hectometres. It has particularly benefited the most water-deprived basins, such as Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Guadalete-Barbate, Mediterranean Andalusian, Júcar, and Internal Catalonia, all of which are now above 50% capacity.

In fact, various drought committees are already planning to lift restrictions for the upcoming agricultural irrigation campaign this spring. "This rain has been very beneficial, although unevenly distributed across Andalusia, and we hope to bring good news to both farmers and municipalities regarding supply," stated the Andalusian Minister of Agriculture, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco.

The Segura Hydrographic Confederation's Reservoir Commission also agreed on Tuesday to reduce water restrictions for the basin's irrigators following this month's rainfall, which has increased the Segura reservoirs' volumes by around 100 cubic hectometres. The Segura is the basin with the least water, at 26.5% of its capacity, although its situation is significantly better than a year ago when it was around 20%.

In Catalonia, however, the Government spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, has issued a message of "caution" despite the rains raising reservoir levels to 58%. According to Paneque, in mid or late April, the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) will convene reservoir commissions, which, based on reservoir levels, will propose allocations related to agricultural irrigation.

Moreover, according to Aemet forecasts, the coming days are expected to be generally stable with rain confined to the far north and parts of the Balearic Islands. However, isolated showers may occur in inland areas, particularly in the afternoons. "Temperatures will rise and generally align with seasonal norms," Del Campo indicated.

Thus, this Wednesday, we expect rain in the far north of the peninsula, the Upper Ebro, and the Balearic Islands. Additionally, clouds will develop in the afternoon, potentially bringing isolated showers, especially in mountainous areas. Snow will fall in the Pyrenees above 1,400 to 1,800 metres, and the wind will also be notable, with strong northwesterly winds in the Ebro and tramontane winds in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Temperatures will drop in the Ebro Valley and rise in the southern peninsula. In cities like Murcia, Seville, or Málaga, temperatures will hover around 22 degrees.

Thursday and Friday will generally be calm days, still with northwesterly winds in the Ebro, tramontane winds in the northeastern peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Anticyclonic and stable weather will prevail. It will be cold in the mornings, dropping below 2 degrees in wide areas of the northern plateau and central highlands, with some frost in cities like León, Segovia, Soria, Cuenca, or Teruel. By midday and early afternoon, temperatures will rise in these cities to 14 or 15 degrees and even up to 25 degrees in the Guadalquivir Valley.

Regarding rainfall, these two days will see rain confined to the far north of the peninsula with a snow level on Thursday around 1,400 metres, which may drop to 1,000 or 1,100 metres on Friday.

According to Del Campo, the weekend will continue in the same vein, with generally stable weather, rain confined to the far north, and again some isolated showers in interior areas, especially in the northern half and possibly also in the Balearic Islands. "Although there is still uncertainty, temperatures may drop on Saturday in the northern half and rise in the southern half, while on Sunday, temperatures will rise generally. By Sunday, temperatures will reach around 25 degrees in cities like Badajoz, Murcia, Huelva, Seville, or Córdoba, while in the northern plateau, they will exceed 15 to 17 degrees. In short, spring-like weather typical of this time of year," indicated the Aemet spokesperson.

Finally, in the Canary Islands, there will be cloudy skies in the north of the more mountainous islands with light to moderate rain and cloudy intervals in the south of the islands and in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. It is possible that from Thursday, suspended dust will arrive, leading to haze with higher temperatures, especially on Friday and Saturday, when temperatures could reach 28 degrees in parts of the eastern islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.