Valencia sits on Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast in a region especially prone to the intense autumn storms known locally as DANA or “gota fria,” when cold air aloft interacts with the still-warm Mediterranean to produce extraordinarily heavy rainfall over a short period. The city averages around 450 mm (about 18 inches) of rain a year, but a single autumn event can deliver a large fraction of that total in a matter of hours, historically causing severe flooding along the Turia river basin and surrounding low-lying agricultural land. Because these events develop with real but limited lead time, radar tracking is one of the most important tools regional authorities and residents use to judge how a storm is intensifying nearby. Spain’s AEMET operates the national radar network covering the region.
Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map