© EFE
Much of Spain was affected by a string of thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday, with thunder and lightning accompanied by sometimes heavy rain and hailstorms on an axis running from the south-west of the country through to central northern areas.
Some of the worst of the weather was suffered in the region of Extremadura, where rain, hailstorms and hurricane-force winds destroyed crops over an area of 10,000 hectares in the Vegas Altas and La Serena areas. At the same time streets were flooded in the province of Badajoz (see image taken in the municipality of Villanueva de la Serena) in what the Mayor of Villanueva, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, described as "the perfect storm".
Further north, meanwhile, in the province of Soria (Castilla y León), a freak "dry storm" resulted in 80% of the crops in Torlengua, in the Las Vicarías area, being destroyed. According to Mayor Matías Ágreda, the wind suddenly changed direction at approximately 20.20 on Wednesday and strengthened, bringing hailstones with it, and within five minutes thousands of kilos of wheat and barley had been flattened. This effectively ruins what had promised to be an exceptionally good harvest, and at the same time vegetable fields were also devastated.
The stormy weather also made its presence felt in the small Ávila town of Narrillos del Álamo, where a bolt of lightning caused extensive damage to the belltower and the roof of the church of San Miguel in the village of Mercadillo. The Mayor and the parish priest are now assessing the damage prior to seeking aid in order to repair the damage.
Notice how many instances of heavy rainfall have been occurring this year? This is due to several factors. First and foremost is the warm phase which started in 1976/77, ended in 2006/07. Some of you may ask what is up with the recent warming then? That is part of how the natural system works. Just because we entered into a cool phase in 2006/07 does not mean that we won't see a few warm spikes. These latest warm spikes were all caused by the strong El Nino which peaked last November. Now we will see a stronger level of cooling versus the slight cooling which many had been calling the "Pause". We are now at the point on the long term slope where the slope will steepen year by year.
In Sept of 2014 at CNBC, I left a comment predicting that this upcoming winter would be a major flood event on the Pacific Northwest coast and to points inland. My claim is that the current heavy rains seen around the globe such as France, strongest rain in 150 years, this major Spanish ran event, the Chinese rain event, and the many other strong rains are harbingers of ny prediction which was made 2.5 years ago. Actually, I first started talking about that possibility in early 2014, but I would have to search back through my comments to see if I could find verification. Here is where I made the 9/2014 prediction...[Link]
You will have to scroll through the comments to find "goldminor". here is what I said. It was only a brief ending to something else I was saying......"A possible bright note is that I see a good possibility for strong spring rains next year. The year after that should bring a normal rain, and the year after that will be a likely candidate for a flood event in Northern California."...". To add to this for understanding what I was saying was in the spring of 2015 NoCalifornia would have decent rainfall for the first time in years. That forecast turned out to be correct. the second forecast for the winter of 2015/16, last winter, would be normal rainfall after the many years of drought. That forecast turned out to be correct as the rain was average to above average all winter long. Then the 3rd forecast was for the winter of 2016/17 in which I forecast a major flood event on the PNW. That forecast is yet to be proven, but I now believe that the heavy rains around the globe which have occurred so far in this year are fully indicative of what the Pacific Northwest will receive this coming winter. Now if my 3rd forecast holds as true, then I will be able to further detail when the next solar minimum will hit and when the next flood event will occur on the PNW. This is getting very interesting. I will be commenting here from now on as I feel that this is a good place for me and my unusual skills. I am an amateur, a gifted amateur. I also have much more to say.