Calm at last

The strong wind that has lashed Alicante province since Friday continued through until Sunday. It had calmed overnight on Saturday only to return with force on Sunday morning.

Wind gusts of up to 74km per hour were recorded at Alicante/Elche airport which must have made plane landings “interesting” to say the least. In Orihuela the wind speed reached 73km per hour.

This morning I will be outside putting things back in place including a large plant pot that was overturned. Fortunately, the plastic pot looks to be undamaged and it landed safely to the side of my car.

Most of the reports of damage are about falling ledges, balconies, walls, fences, billboards, street furniture and trees. The facade of the Town Hall in Alicante suffered and a tree in the Plaza Gómez Ulla fell, severely damaging a parked car.There are no reports of injuries that I can find.

Further up the coast, at the Castellon town of Vilafranca, the gusts reached 115km per hour. In Fredes speeds of 100km per hour were recorded and in Vinaros the wind got to 92km per hour.

Apart from the damage that the wind can do, there is also a high risk of forest fires to consider. There is therefore a ban on any type of fire even in designated recreational areas. 

For the benefit of my British readers, let me put those speeds into perspective for you with this table that shows the conversion between kilometres per hour to miles per hour.