Spain’s Menorca under advisory for meteotsunami from midnight

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - The Spanish island of Menorca has been put on alert for a meteotsunami beginning Wednesday midnight as a storm barrels toward the Balearic Islands.

Meteotsunamis, also known as rissagas in the Menorcan dialect, are large waves caused by air pressure disturbances associated with fast-moving weather events like severe thunderstorms.

While the waves are essentially the same as a tsunami provoked by an earthquake, they tend to be smaller in size.

Many of the most destructive meteotsunamis in Spain have occurred in Menorca.

While damage is generally limited to boats and flooding in coastal areas, in 2018 a German tourist was killed in a meteotsunami when he was sucked far out to sea.

These types of waves are also common in other regions of the world, such as the North American Great Lakes, where large meteotsunamis have killed several people in the last century.

On Wednesday, Spain’s meteorological agency warned that Menorca could see sharp fluctuations of around 0.9 meters (3 feet) above and below normal water levels from midnight until 3:00 p.m. local time.

The waves are expected to precede strong rains and storms, which are forecast to hit the popular tourist destinations of both Menorca and neighboring Mallorca on Thursday.

This is yet another severe weather event for the island in what is already a record-breaking week.

On Sunday, the meteorological station at Menorca’s airport shattered its records for the highest temperature ever reported during August – 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit).