At 730am this morning it was cloudy but dry and rather mild in Palma, but within a matter of minutes the skies suddenly opened and the rain gave the city a good soaking for the best part of an hour. Other parts of Mallorca have been brought to a stand still since early Thursday morning by the storm accompanied by hail, heavy rain and strong winds, which in some places are reaching 90 kilometres per hour.
The AEMET met. office had already activated an orange alert for the entire island due to the pending arrival of the weather front. The situation began to worsen around 8 a.m., when the storm hit the Andratx area. In Palma, just before 9 a.m., at the height of rush hour, the storm darkened the city, leaving significant accumulations of water in a matter of minutes, with streets completely transformed into rivers. The situation has also affected Palma airport, where there are already dozens of delays.
Palma airport reported a dozen delays and one cancellation due to the storm. The rain and storms affecting Mallorca since early Thursday morning have caused traffic jams and slow traffic in several parts of the island. According to information provided by the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), the most complicated situation has been on the Palma ring road, which is experiencing traffic jams in both directions.
Meanwhile, the Llucmajor and Inca motorways are experiencing slow traffic. The situation on the Andratx motorway is gradually returning to normal after a heavy downpour. The heavy downpour has caused some incidents, such as fallen trees and branches at the entrance to Palma via Porto Pi.
In view of this situation, the Directorate-General for Emergencies has activated a yellow alert (IG-0 of the Meteobal Plan) and has asked the public to exercise caution for the rest of the day.