By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s Andalusia region will cancel in-person classes Wednesday as officials warned on Tuesday that an “atmospheric river” linked to Storm Leonardo could bring “unprecedented” rain, raising the risk of flooding.
“It’s an exceptional phenomenon,” Andalusia’s President Juan Manuel Moreno said at a news conference. “Atmospheric rivers are more common in tropical areas, but quite unknown for us.”
He said the rains are set to begin late Tuesday, primarily affecting the southern Spanish region, parts of Portugal and northern Morocco, and continue through Thursday.
“There are places in Andalusia where it could rain in two days what it usually rains in an entire year,” he said.
Moreno said recent heavy rainfall has already left the soil saturated and reservoirs near capacity, while some rivers are already running near maximum levels, increasing the risk of flash floods.
He said dozens of reservoirs are releasing water to make room for new inflows, but warned that intense downpours could quickly push them back toward full capacity.
“Any area that flooded in the last 50 years is at risk of flooding again this week,” he said.
He added that the region raised its flood emergency plan from Level 1 to Level 2, allowing it to request reinforcements from other agencies, including the Spanish military, and to pre-position resources in higher-risk areas.
While the rain is expected to stop Friday, he said Spain’s meteorologists predict another storm system, also linked to an atmospheric river, is expected to batter the region again from Saturday.
Andalusia has recently suffered one of the worst droughts in modern times, but rainfall beginning last year has lifted several areas out of emergency levels and replenished reservoirs.