Storm Charles causes floods and flight cancellations across southern Europe

Storm Charles has brought destructive weather to the Iberian peninusla this week, particularly in Portugal and the far south of Spain. Heavy rain and strong south-westerly winds arrived first in the Portuguese island of Madeira, before the system headed towards the mainland on 11 November. A wind gust of 84.5mph (136 km/h) was recorded at Funchal airport, alongside rainfall totals reaching 355mm in 12 hours. Lisbon saw 183 flights cancelled on Wednesday, around a third of its normal daily traffic, while Madrid Barajas airport had 155 cancellations.

After causing widespread flooding in Spain and Portugal, the system moved on a north-easterly track through southern France and then towards northern Italy. This resulted in significant flooding in parts of Cannes, some of which caused rock falls and led to the closure of roads along the French Riviera. The Italian weather service issued a red rainfall warning, its highest level, for the area extending from Tuscany to Venezia. Further heavy rain is expected to fall in Italy and the Balkans over the next few days, with the latest forecast models indicating an additional 100mm could accumulate widely, while totals close to 200mm are likely in more mountainous areas.

Successive rounds of heavy rain and strong winds have caused flooding, landslides and disruption across British Columbia, Canada through the last week or so.

Between Monday and Friday last week, severe rainfall and strong winds left more than 400,000 customers without power in British Columbia. These unsettled conditions continued into the weekend, with further heavy rain leaving 135,000 customers without power, alongside downed trees, flooded roads and landslides. Strong winds were also recorded on Sunday, with a gust of 72.1mph (116 km/h) on Herbert Island and a gust of 60mph (96 km/h) at Victoria international airport.

Heavy rain warnings were then issued on Wednesday for British Columbia’s Vancouver Island and southern coastal areas as multiple stations recorded rainfall totals in excess of 100mm. Additionally, the River Forecast Centre issued flood warnings on Wednesday across the south coast with heavy rain and high streamflow continuing to bring an increased risk of flash flooding and landslides.

A further area of low pressure is expected to bring torrential rain and strong winds across this same region over the weekend. More than 100mm is likely across central and southern parts of Vancouver Island on Saturday, with gusts in excess of 60mph likely too.