Weather in Alicante: The 'dana' triggers yellow alert for heavy rainfall

The dana expected this weekend in the province of Alicante is gaining intensity. The Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a yellow alert for both maritime storms and heavy rainfall in the northern coast. The storm will last throughout the weekend, with particular severity on Sunday, according to the issued report.

The forecast of widespread rain has led to numerous cancellations of Carnival festivities and outdoor events across the province for this weekend. The Alicante City Council will wait until Saturday to decide whether to cancel the Saturday Ramblero in the capital.

The scenario poses a clear risk. A cold drop or dana will cross northern Africa and form a low in northern Algeria. The fringes of this situation will cause "general precipitation, not ruling out that they may be locally strong and stormy," according to the Laboratory of Climatology at the University of Alicante (UA).

The situation will be very complicated at sea, which will be quite rough. The Levante or Gregal storm, with winds of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour, will cause waves of two to three metres high, and some may exceed 4 metres. Aemet has issued a yellow alert this Saturday for coastal phenomena in the central and southern coast of the province.

On land, Aemet has activated a yellow alert for this Saturday in the northern coast for accumulated rainfall of up to 60 litres per square metre. However, the precipitation will be widespread throughout the province of Alicante. The forecast has led to numerous cancellations of events, especially Carnival festivities.

The situation will remain complicated on Sunday, possibly worsening in the northern coast of the province. The yellow alert continues in this area, with a forecast of accumulated precipitation of up to 60 litres per square metre in 12 hours. Showers will be particularly intense during the central hours of Sunday, with the possibility of reaching an intensity of 20 litres per square metre per hour.

This situation will continue throughout the next week, according to current Aemet forecasts.