San Cristobal de La Laguna sits in Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa, where a subtropical, semi-arid climate keeps most of the year dry, with the little rain that does fall concentrated in short, intense autumn and winter storms.
On Tenerife, the city’s elevated location means it receives more rainfall than the arid coastal resorts below, with runoff draining quickly through volcanic terrain. Volcanic island terrain means rain that does fall can run off steep slopes into ravines (barrancos) extremely quickly, making flash flooding a bigger relative risk here than the islands’ generally dry climate would suggest. Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map