Almeria has been placed under an orange weather warning for torrential rain on Thursday.

State weather agency Aemet has issued the alert for the Levante almeriense, encompassing the towns of Nijar, Mojacar, Vera and others.

Forecasters warn that as much as 50mm could fall in just one hour. The orange warning will be in force from 3am until 11.59am on Thursday.

A separate orange warning covering the same period forecasts accumulations of 100mm over 12 hours, with Aemet cautioning that the totals could be reached over relatively short periods.

The alert will then fall to yellow from midday, when up to 15mm could fall within an hour.

Elsewhere in Almeria province, Poniente and Almeria city are under yellow warnings for rain and thunderstorms from midday until 7.59pm, with storms potentially accompanied by hail.

Several other parts of Andalucia will be under yellow warnings from midday until 7.59pm on Thursday, with thunderstorms potentially accompanied by hail.

In Poniente and Almeria city, Aemet is forecasting up to 15mm of rain in an hour alongside thunderstorms and possible hail.

Warnings for the same combination of rain and storms have also been activated across parts of Granada, Jaen, Cordoba and Malaga provinces.

In Granada, the affected areas include Guadix and Baza and Nevada and the Alpujarras, where up to 15mm could fall in an hour.

In Jaen, warnings cover the provincial capital and Montes de Jaen, the Guadalquivir Valley and Cazorla and Segura.

The Cordoba Subbetica is also under a yellow warning, as is Antequera in Malaga province.

All of those areas could see thunderstorms accompanied by hail during Thursday afternoon.

Even heavier rain further east

The severe weather will extend into neighbouring Murcia and Alicante, where several areas are also under orange alerts.

In Murcia, Campo de Cartagena and Mazarron, as well as Valle del Guadalentin, Lorca and Aguilas, could receive 50mm of rain in just one hour between 3am and 11.59am.

Aemet is also warning of accumulations of up to 80mm over 12 hours in those areas, with the rainfall potentially concentrated into shorter periods.

The most extreme totals are forecast on the southern coast of Alicante, where an orange warning will run from 3am until 2.59pm.

There, as much as 60mm could fall in one hour and 120mm over 12 hours.

Aemet has warned that totals exceeding 120mm could potentially accumulate in only two or three hours.