Andalucia has suspended all in-person school activity across every province except Almeria ahead of a red-level storm on Wednesday.
Authorities are bracing for an exceptional bout of severe weather driven by two incoming ‘atmospheric rivers’.
The measure covers classroom teaching and extracurricular activities, while universities have also been urged to close.
The decision was announced by regional president Juanma Moreno, who described the situation as ‘exceptional’.
He warned that areas flooded at any point over the past 50 years could flood again in the coming days.
Two atmospheric rivers on the way
Moreno said Andalucia is facing an unusually humid air mass, comparable to tropical systems and originating in the Caribbean – a phenomenon known as an atmospheric river.
Two such systems are expected before the weekend, bringing very heavy rainfall to Portugal, northern Morocco and across Andalusia.
According to Aemet delegate Juan de Dios del Pino, the storm will begin entering western Andalucia from 9pm today, starting in Huelva, with rainfall totals of up to 120mm/m2 in 12 hours and more than 200 in 24 hours.
The heaviest rain is expected Wednesday and Thursday, easing on Friday before returning over the weekend with what he described as ‘a swarm of storms’.
