On Good Friday, the Canary Islands are set to be on high alert due to the impacts of the Nelson squall, which is forecasted to bring significant wind gusts, rough sea conditions, and notably heavy rainfall, particularly on the island of La Palma, as per the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Wind Conditions
The Nelson squall has led to yellow warnings for intense wind gusts across five islands this Thursday:
- Tenerife: Experiencing northwesterly winds, particularly impacting the midlands of the metropolitan area with gusts peaking at 70 km/h, and potentially stronger gusts on the summits by evening.
- La Palma: Westerly winds turning northwesterly with gusts up to 70 km/h across the east and west. Summit gusts could hit 80 km/h, with high areas possibly seeing gusts of 90 km/h.
- La Gomera: Westerly winds affecting mainly the midlands and summits with gusts up to 70 km/h.
- El Hierro: Westerly winds shifting to northwesterly, mainly hitting the summits and northeastern slopes with gusts up to 80 km/h, possibly reaching 90 km/h on summits.
- Gran Canaria: Experiencing westerly winds with gusts up to 70 km/h, mainly in the midlands.
Rainfall in the Canary Islands
La Palma is under a yellow warning for intense showers, expected mostly in the northern half towards the day’s end, with up to 15 mm of rainfall per hour forecasted, especially impacting the western and northern slopes.
El Hierro also faces a risk of rainfall, particularly on the northern slopes, with the same amount of accumulated rainfall expected.
Coastal Conditions
Additionally, La Palma and El Hierro are on yellow alert for combined northwesterly seas, leading to waves reaching 4 to 5 metres. Tenerife is also under alert for west or southwesterly winds ranging from 50 to 61 km/h (force 7) along the north coast offshore.
Given these forecasts, the Canary Islands Government has announced alerts for coastal phenomena across the archipelago and a pre-alert for wind affecting Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, and Gran Canaria.
Upcoming Weather Warnings for Good Friday
Yellow alerts for heavy showers are in place for La Palma and the northeastern areas of El Hierro and Tenerife in the early hours, with very strong northwesterly gusts expected on the peaks of La Palma and in the northeastern midlands of El Hierro. Tenerife’s high areas might also see particularly strong northwesterly winds.
Moreover, the yellow alert for adverse coastal phenomena extends to the north of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, while the alerts on La Palma and El Hierro will escalate to orange due to the severity of the conditions.
