Storm Barbara unleashes heavy rain across Spain, Portugal on its trek to the UK
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 16, 2020 5:02 PM EDT
Jaw-dropping video shows Britain's best garden bursting with autumn colors. Marie and Tony Newton spent 38 years and more than $19K transforming their beautiful oasis.
Forecasters say a pattern change is coming for western Europe that will send stormy conditions into the region.
Following a dry weekend across much of western Europe, the first of several storms will approach from the North Atlantic Ocean.
"A feature high up in the atmosphere just to the west of Europe will be responsible for hurling several storms eastward into western Europe," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
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Each of these storms will bring with them a round of heavy rainfall and a burst of stronger winds.
The first storm approached the British Isles on Monday, bringing areas of heavy rain and blustery winds to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
This was quickly followed by Storm Barbara, named by The Spanish Meteorology Agency, which slammed into the Iberian Peninsula with heavy rain and wind on Tuesday and Tuesday night.
Storm Barbara brought widespread rainfall of 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) across Portugal and western Spain on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Storm Barbara will bring another round of heavier rainfall to parts of the southern British Isles before tracking into Scandinavia.
While Britain is not expected to have the same magnitude of rainfall, up to 2 inches (50 mm) can still fall, leading to ponding on roadways and travel delays.
As a result, the UK Met Office issued yellow warnings for rain across much of southern England, including London, Norwich and Brighton. This warning is in effect until Wednesday afternoon.
A gusty wind will also be felt on Wednesday to the south of Barbara's track across northeast France, Belgium and the Netherlands. These areas can have wind gusts of 40-50 mph (65-80 km/h) which may lead to isolated power outages as well as downed tree branches.
Much of the Iberian Peninsula, outside of the far northeastern part of Spain, had been abnormally dry in autumn and needed the rain.
"There are slight drought conditions across parts of Portugal and western Spain, areas that could really use some rain," said Roys.
These drought conditions have helped trigger the development of wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula through the summer and into early autumn.
The last windstorm to hit Europe this season was Storm Alex, which struck at the beginning of October. Damaging winds and flooding rainfall swept through much of Europe, including in France and Italy where mudslides swept floodwaters through towns. Between the two countries, at least seven people were killed due to the storm's impact.
Situation in the valley of Saint Martin de Vésubie, 10 days after the passage of Storm Alex which hit Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the South of France, Oct. 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Abaca Press)
Storm Alex also brought unusual weather to Paris during the time of the rescheduled French Open, as well as torrential rain to the British Isles.
The U.K. Met Office confirmed on Friday that the rainfall from Storm Alex on Oct. 3 set a new record for the United Kingdom. The agency said the storm produced so much rainfall that it would have been enough to fill all of Loch Ness.
Back in August, AccuWeather meteorologists predicted that several windstorms could impact western Europe this season, before the meat of the windstorm season gets underway in winter.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Severe Weather
Storm Barbara unleashes heavy rain across Spain, Portugal on its trek to the UK
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Oct 16, 2020 5:02 PM EDT
Jaw-dropping video shows Britain's best garden bursting with autumn colors. Marie and Tony Newton spent 38 years and more than $19K transforming their beautiful oasis.
Forecasters say a pattern change is coming for western Europe that will send stormy conditions into the region.
Following a dry weekend across much of western Europe, the first of several storms will approach from the North Atlantic Ocean.
"A feature high up in the atmosphere just to the west of Europe will be responsible for hurling several storms eastward into western Europe," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Each of these storms will bring with them a round of heavy rainfall and a burst of stronger winds.
The first storm approached the British Isles on Monday, bringing areas of heavy rain and blustery winds to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
This was quickly followed by Storm Barbara, named by The Spanish Meteorology Agency, which slammed into the Iberian Peninsula with heavy rain and wind on Tuesday and Tuesday night.
Storm Barbara brought widespread rainfall of 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) across Portugal and western Spain on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Storm Barbara will bring another round of heavier rainfall to parts of the southern British Isles before tracking into Scandinavia.
While Britain is not expected to have the same magnitude of rainfall, up to 2 inches (50 mm) can still fall, leading to ponding on roadways and travel delays.
As a result, the UK Met Office issued yellow warnings for rain across much of southern England, including London, Norwich and Brighton. This warning is in effect until Wednesday afternoon.
A gusty wind will also be felt on Wednesday to the south of Barbara's track across northeast France, Belgium and the Netherlands. These areas can have wind gusts of 40-50 mph (65-80 km/h) which may lead to isolated power outages as well as downed tree branches.
Much of the Iberian Peninsula, outside of the far northeastern part of Spain, had been abnormally dry in autumn and needed the rain.
"There are slight drought conditions across parts of Portugal and western Spain, areas that could really use some rain," said Roys.
These drought conditions have helped trigger the development of wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula through the summer and into early autumn.
Related:
The last windstorm to hit Europe this season was Storm Alex, which struck at the beginning of October. Damaging winds and flooding rainfall swept through much of Europe, including in France and Italy where mudslides swept floodwaters through towns. Between the two countries, at least seven people were killed due to the storm's impact.
Situation in the valley of Saint Martin de Vésubie, 10 days after the passage of Storm Alex which hit Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the South of France, Oct. 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Abaca Press)
Storm Alex also brought unusual weather to Paris during the time of the rescheduled French Open, as well as torrential rain to the British Isles.
The U.K. Met Office confirmed on Friday that the rainfall from Storm Alex on Oct. 3 set a new record for the United Kingdom. The agency said the storm produced so much rainfall that it would have been enough to fill all of Loch Ness.
Back in August, AccuWeather meteorologists predicted that several windstorms could impact western Europe this season, before the meat of the windstorm season gets underway in winter.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo