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Parts of Spain are already being battered by Storm Nils, which brought heavy rain and powerful winds on Wednesday and is expected to keep causing problems across much of the country over the next couple of days. But it won't be hanging around for long because another storm, Oriana, is already forming and will sweep in on Friday and Saturday before conditions finally settle down.

 

Storm Nils will continue to make its presence felt across Spain throughout Thursday, although the rain should ease as the day goes on and most areas will stay dry. Some scattered showers might still pop up in parts of Galicia and southern Andalucia, and rain warnings remain in place for the Grazalema region at orange level until midday before dropping to yellow for the rest of the day.

 

Later on, rain linked to the approaching Storm Oriana will start moving in from the west, bringing showers to areas of Galicia, Extremadura and much of inland Spain.

 

The wind is going to be the main headache on Thursday, with gusts of around 80km/h forecast across most of the eastern half of the country. That's prompted weather warnings for strong winds along the coast of Cantabria and the Basque Country, as well as in eastern Castilla y León, Aragon, La Rioja, Navarra, the Valencian Community, eastern Castilla-La Mancha, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, Catalonia and eastern Andalucia.

 

Orange alerts have been issued for Almería, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, where gusts could hit 100km/h. The good news is that the wind should start dying down as Thursday wears on and most warnings will be lifted.

 

Storm Oriana will properly announce itself on Friday when an active weather front crosses the country. Heavy rainfall is expected in many spots across Andalucia, the Central System, Galicia and particularly the Pyrenees. The wind will then swing round to the north, bringing more rain to northern areas and a sharp drop in temperatures across the board.

 

Weather alerts remain in place across the board, including orange alerts for gales and rough seas in Andalucia, the Region of Murcia and the Valencian Community.

 

The rain and snow should start easing off on Valentine’s Day afternoon as an Atlantic ridge moves in and begins to stabilise the atmosphere. This marks the beginning of the end for the unsettled spell.

 

However, very strong gusts are still expected in the eastern half of the country, the Balearic Islands, and in the mountains of western Spain, with the possibility of hurricane-force gusts in the Pyrenees, the Empordà region and the lower Ebro Valley.

 

That same Atlantic ridge will stick around throughout Sunday and into the start of next week, which means clearer skies and dry conditions for almost the entire country. Finally, a bit of respite.

 

For more weather news go to our Weather & Climate page or follow the Spain Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates

 

Images: Aemet