Torrential downpours lash northern Spain

Storm clouds have been brewing over Western Europe for some time now and bad weather is now tumbling into the region.

This has resulted in cold, unsettled air plunging all the way down across the Bay of Biscay, causing floods across parts of northern Spain.

Over the past few days, the cold northerly winds have brought frequent and heavy wintry showers across the United Kingdom and France. That same bitter wind subsequently pushed unstable air and heavy seas into northern Spain.

Fierce waves pounded seafronts and fishing boats off the country’s coast. This led authorities to issue alerts for storm tides and strong winds for the weekend, with snow in some places.

San Sebastian recorded 57mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 06:00 GMT on Saturday. 

Conditions were worse in Bilbao, which is the capital of the province of Biscay in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The city saw 85mm of rain on Saturday. The average for the whole of January is around 90mm. 

Further thunderstorms are expected across the Iberian Peninsula this week. The next storm is expected to bring another round of rain and mountain snow to Spain and Portugal on Monday as it dives south across the Bay of Biscay.