Catalonia issues 44 red rain warnings in 2026, nearly double the 2025 figure

Rainfall well above normal in October

Catalonia recorded October rainfall above five times the climate average at several points, according to a communiqué from the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya (Meteocat). The stations named were L'Ametlla de Mar, Cases d'Alcanar and El Perelló in Tarragona province, while Granollers in Barcelona province came close to the same level. Meteocat described the month as rainy across the whole region but said some spots saw exceptional totals because of extreme weather episodes. Anna Rius, head of the agency's climate services team, presented the monthly balance.

“The month of October has been rainy across all of Catalonia, but at certain points it has been very exceptional because of the extreme weather episodes that have occurred.”

The agency rated October as extremely rainy in the Baix Ebre, Montsià, Baix Llobregat, Barcelonès, Maresme and Vallès Oriental areas. Its long-running series place October as the second rainiest month in 114 years of data at the Fabra observatory in Barcelona, and the third rainiest in 121 years at the Ebre observatory in Tarragona. Temperatures were warm, especially in the high Pyrenees. Rius linked the pattern to a persistent anticyclone that blocked incoming air masses, both cold and warm, for much of the month.

Red warnings at a record level

The count of red rain warnings issued by Meteocat between January and October stands at 44, according to figures gathered by El Periódico. That total includes warnings issued ahead of a storm and observation warnings issued while rain is already falling. In 2025 the agency issued 24 red rain warnings, and in 2018, the year with the next highest count, it issued 20. The 2026 figure is provisional until the year closes. Of the 77 red warnings issued this year for all phenomena, the rest were linked to wind and heat rather than rain.

201820

202524

2026 (January to October)44

2018

20 warnings

2025

24 warnings

2026 (January to October)

44 warnings

Data from the article text

Santi Segalà, head of forecasting at Meteocat, linked the surge to a run of storms over the past two months, with short and intense showers that most often trigger red alerts. He acknowledged that 2026 is the year with the most red warnings.

“We have had an unprecedented amount of localised and abundant showers.”

Segalà said the alert system, which dates from 2013, has been adjusted at points since it began.

Protecció Civil studies a higher threshold

Protecció Civil and Meteocat are studying a higher trigger for intense rain measured over 30 minutes. Raising it would mean fewer red warnings for brief, localised downpours, and therefore fewer ES-Alert messages sent to mobile phones, a tool that has become common during intense rain episodes. Any change must be agreed among Protecció Civil, Meteocat and the Catalan Water Agency (ACA). Segalà said Meteocat would adjust its criteria if Protecció Civil asked, since that body knows best the impact of each phenomenon.

Sergio Delgado, deputy director of Protecció Civil, said the option was first discussed during the last review of the Inuncat plan and remains open. He said the team began by checking which kinds of rain produced the most material damage when it adapted the plan to the climate context. The current trigger is 40 litres per square metre in 30 minutes. The two alternatives under consideration are 45 litres and 50 litres, which would mean the red alarm sounds only for heavier totals.

“We saw that the current threshold of 40 litres per square metre in 30 minutes did not always cause serious damage…”