DANA Storm Hits Western Spain with Heavy Rain While North Faces Heatwave

A DANA — an isolated cold storm — swept into western Spain on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, bringing heavy rain, hail, and strong winds to multiple regions while the north and center of the country recorded temperatures up to 10 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms. The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) activated yellow warnings across 14 provinces, covering Huelva, Ávila, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Toledo, Badajoz, Cáceres, A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra. The storm's arrival triggered alerts for rain, wind, and waves across five autonomous communities: Andalusia, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Galicia, and the Canary Islands. AEMET spokesperson Rubén del Campo acknowledged difficulty in pinpointing the storm's exact trajectory but confirmed its impact would be concentrated in the western and southern parts of the peninsula.

„It is difficult to specify the trajectory, although it will leave heavy and persistent precipitation.” — Rubén del Campo via Europa Press

DANA events — the Spanish acronym for Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos, referring to an isolated cold air mass at high altitudes that detaches from the polar vortex — have historically caused some of Spain's most severe weather episodes. In November 2024, a DANA caused flash floods, hail, and tornadoes across parts of Spain, prompting experts to examine links between the phenomenon's growing frequency and climate change. In February 2026, the Spanish government approved approximately 7 billion euros in financial aid for people affected by earlier storms.

Mud rain threat as calima dust mixes with storms The storm brought an additional hazard across the center and west of the peninsula: suspended dust, known locally as calima, which mixed with precipitation to produce mud showers in several areas. Locally heavy rainfall, exceeding 15 liters per square meter per hour, was forecast for western Galicia, Castilla y León, Andalusia, and Extremadura. Wind gusts exceeding 70 kilometers per hour were expected across the Cantabrian Mountains, western Castilla y León, Andalusia, and Extremadura. Significant water accumulations were forecast in the west of the Central System and in Andalusian mountain ranges. Coastal fog banks were also forecast along the northern Mediterranean coasts and in the Balearic Islands, compounding travel disruptions. In the Canary Islands, La Palma and El Hierro were placed under wave alerts, while a generalized drop in temperatures was predicted across the archipelago.

70 (km/h) — wind gust threshold triggering alerts in multiple regions

Bilbao: 28, Logroño: 27, Lleida: 28, Córdoba: 28, Zaragoza: 28, Madrid: 25, Ourense: 25, A Coruña: 20, Cáceres: 21

Seville braces for afternoon storms, mud rain possible In Seville, the storm's effects were expected to build through the day, with the first significant precipitation forecast between 14:00 and 16:00 in the form of storms, followed by a brief pause and then renewed, more intense rainfall from 18:00 extending into the early hours of Wednesday. The presence of calima meant that some of that rainfall could arrive as mud. The notable temperature drop that the storm typically brings was not expected in Seville on Tuesday itself but was forecast to arrive on Wednesday, when maximum temperatures were set to fall sharply. Rain was also expected on Wednesday, particularly in the early hours and of a stormy character. Conditions were forecast to stabilize somewhat by Thursday, with rainfall losing intensity, before cloudiness increased again on Saturday and precipitation returned. Cáceres, under a yellow alert for rain, storms, and winds simultaneously, recorded a maximum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, with a further drop to 15 degrees forecast for Wednesday.

North and center bask in near-summer warmth before weekend chill While the west faced the brunt of the storm, the north and center of Spain experienced temperatures more typical of late May or early June, running between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius above normal for early April, according to del Campo. Cities including Bilbao, Logroño, Lleida, Córdoba, and Zaragoza all recorded maximums around 28 degrees Celsius, while Madrid reached 25 degrees. Logroño was forecast to see highs of 27 degrees on Tuesday, rising to 28 by Thursday, before very cloudy skies with rain arrived over the weekend, with Sunday's maximum dropping below 14 degrees. Lleida similarly enjoyed 28 degrees on Tuesday, with forecasts showing a sharp weekend reversal, including an extraordinary temperature drop placing Sunday's maximum at just 14 degrees. Del Campo indicated that looking toward the weekend, temperatures could drop across a large part of the country, returning closer to seasonal norms after the anomalous warmth of the early week. The contrast between the storm-battered west and the sun-warmed east illustrated the DANA's characteristic ability to produce sharply divergent conditions across the Iberian Peninsula simultaneously.