More than a week of rain in a row is a picture to which we, the people of Madrid, are not used to. And even more so after a particularly warm and dry month of February in practically all of Spain, according to the data recorded by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). However, the irruption of the Jana squall has left a generalized panorama of rains that will continue even once it has passed.
The continuous and abundant rainfall has wreaked havoc over the weekend in several areas of the Community of Madrid, which have seen sections of their roads cut – this is the case of the M-611 (Rascafría) and the M-637 (Navafría) at the time of writing this article – and even the overflowing of rivers such as the Lozoya or the Guadarrama have caused some flooding and evictions.
An illustrative fact: as shared by the account MeteoMadrid (@carlosweder) in its X account on Sunday night, the latest information available about the water dammed in the region points out that “since Monday 3, reservoirs such as Santillana or San Juan have risen more than 20%“.
The next two weeks could be very rainy
As we advanced in the first paragraph, the AEMET has pointed out in its social networks that the end of Jana is not the end of the rain: it will continue during this week on the occasion of “new fronts associated with Atlantic squalls” that “will sweep our country with precipitation in large areas”. In addition, temperatures will be lower than usual for this time of year.
The forecast for the coming weeks is not very different: the AEMET reports that, although the uncertainty of the forecast increases, from March 17 to 23 “rainfall, in principle, will also be above normal values for the season, except in the far north and western Canary Islands”.
From March 24 to 30, with even more uncertainty,“there could be a change in the weather pattern, with temperatures above normal for the season” in the north of the peninsula and “without a clear trend in terms of rainfall”.
Official channels to stay informed
Due to the persistence of the rains, on Saturday (the most adverse day of the episode) the Flood Action Plan (PAINUNAM) was activated at level 0, a phase of alert and monitoring, which has been deactivated with only a few minutes to 11 am this Monday. This type of warnings are channeled through profiles such as the Emergency Information Office of the Madrid City Council, which also shares recommendations on how to act in case of flooding.
From the Community of Madrid, on the other hand, they have the INUNCAM campaign, where you will find useful and relevant information on preventive measures in case of heavy rains and floods. And the profile 112 Madrid.
The official profile of the Madrid City Council also provides information on active warnings for adverse weather conditions. On the other hand, the source of information to resort to in order to have real-time official and reliable data on the weather situation is, obviously, the AEMET.
In the event of an emergency, the ES-Alert System of the National Alert Network sends a message to the population “located in areas affected, or expected to be affected” by the situation.