Mediterranean and Canaries to escape Hallowe'en weekend downpours

 

IF YOU'RE hoping for a dry, sunny Hallowe'en where you might even be able to relax on the beach, the Mediterranean or the Canary Islands are where you should be – everywhere else is going to be wet and, at high altitudes and in the far north, cold, too, say weathermen.

This Friday (November 1) is a bank holiday across the country and in many other parts of Europe and Latin America for All Saints' Day, when it is traditional for families in Spain to visit their local cemeteries and dress the graves of their departed loved ones.

Most town councils throw on free buses throughout what is sometimes known as 'the Day of the Dead', and for florists, in the run-up to November 1, more trade is conducted ahead of this one day of the year than in several months at any other season, with the exception being in Catalunya – Saint George's, or Sant Jordi's Day, on April 23 sees flower and book stalls lining the streets of every major town and city.

As All Saints' Day falls on a Friday this year, many Spanish residents will take advantage of three days off work on the trot and go away for the weekend, so it is likely literally millions of cars will be out on the roads, particularly those heading for countryside holiday hotspots and the coasts.

Anyone planning to travel between Thursday night and Sunday night should allow plenty of extra time and keep abreast of traffic authority (DGT) bulletins to help them avoid the worst of the gridlocks.

Starting Wednesday, it is expected to rain heavily in Galicia, Asturias and western Castilla y León, possibly spreading to other parts of the north and north-central areas of the mainland, although the sun will be shining brightly elsewhere.

Rainfall will start to head further inland from Thursday, meaning the northern third of the mainland and, possibly, parts of Catalunya, land-locked southern parts and the Balearic Islands will be very wet, with thunder and lightning in isolated areas.

It will not be cold with it, though – temperatures are set to rise in the northern plains and, although they will drop slightly in Andalucía, could reach brief highs of as much as 28ºC in inland areas of the latter and are unlikely to fall below 15ºC to 18ºC in the north, which is very warm in those parts for the time of year.

Friday, the first day of the holiday weekend, will bring heavy rain to the Cantabrian Sea regions, the northern plains, the Pyrénées, northern Castilla-La Mancha and northern inland Andalucía, as well as possibly Catalunya and the Balearic Islands, spreading to the rest of the country over Saturday and Sunday.

In mountainous areas, frost and even ice and snow are likely as the mercury dips even further over the weekend.

But the Mediterranean provinces of Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almería, as well as much of the Balearic Islands, and the whole of the Canary Islands, will escape the rain – cloudy skies may appear, but will be no more than an empty threat, says the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

In fact, in the south, east and south-east away from the coast, temperatures are likely to rise to around 28ºC all weekend, with figures of between 22ºC and 25ºC or perhaps even slightly higher along the Mediterranean seaboard.

AEMET says these temperatures are several degrees higher than average for the time of year – coats are not likely to come out of the cupboards for a while yet in the southern half of the country, and on the Mediterranean, quilts may still be gathering dust at a time when they are normally very much in use.