Rain in Spain is falling everywhere: not just in the plain!
Rain in Spain, especially in the south is always welcome. Almeria, home to Europe’s only semi-desert barely has around 130 mm of rain a year, the average yearly rainfall in Spain varies hugely. Almeria is the driest area of Spain.
This year (2022) has been a strange year. The rain typically comes to the north of Malaga province, bang on time; during the annual fiesta! You could bet your house that the second week of September, we would get rain of some sort. This year though; nothing.
September gave way to October and still no rain. Then, all of a sudden, as the Eurythmics would sing “Here comes the rain again!” Only, this time, it hasn’t stopped for the last two weeks!
Our local village saw flooding after an overnight deluge. The autumn leaves that are still falling blocked the drains, and this in turn caused the water to settle in the streets instead of draining into the river.
Rain in Spain, thanks to Storm Efraín
Every Friday, the Sur in English brings us the news for the south of Spain. It is a free weekly newspaper in English. There is always plenty to catch up on. This week, it explained the weird weather patterns. Check out this report from Ignacio Lillo.
Storm Efraín, which has wreaked havoc in some parts of Malaga province, has nevertheless brought the best news of the year to the Axarquía region. On Thursday 15 December the regional government’s Hidrosur network rain gauges registered more than 40mm accumulated in 24 hours, with further rainfall expected today, Friday 16 December.
The rain gauge installed at the Benamargosa river, in the hamlet of Salto del Negro, recorded 41mm up to midday on Thursday. In contrast, the one at the La Viñuela reservoir recorded 37 and 30 in the village of Alfarnatejo. Read more.
Why is it so important that the rain falls when it does?
Something I never knew, until I came to live in Spain, was that the rain should fall on time. As I live out in the Andalucia countryside, all around me are olives, lots and lots of olives. Olives, like all other plants and trees, need water. The olive trees, need the rain to fall before the harvest. If the rain falls during the harvest, work has to stop for several days as the fields are muddy, the nets are heavy and it is almost impossible to collect the fruit.
