Spain, France and Italy have all experienced significant disruption from storms in recent days, including flooded roads, electricity outages, evacuations and interruptions to public transport.

Heavy rainfall and flooding in Spain

Northeastern Spain was among the areas badly affected earlier this week, when intense rainfall, strong winds and hail hit Catalonia on Monday, 24 August.

The province of Tarragona experienced particularly heavy rainfall. Spanish news agency Europa Press reports that Vinyols i els Arcs recorded 88.6 litres of rain per square metre in just three hours, while Tarragona recorded 77.3 litres during the same period. In Tarragona, 34 litres per square metre fell within just 30 minutes.

The storms also brought strong winds and unusually large hail to other parts of Catalonia, with wind gusts reaching 117 kilometres per hour at Lac Redon in Lleida and hailstones measuring more than five centimetres reported in some areas.

Europa Press reports that 769 calls were made to the 112 emergency service during the severe weather, generating 505 incidents. Firefighters responded to 402 call-outs.

Thousands without electricity in France

Severe thunderstorms also caused significant disruption in southwestern France on Sunday night and into Monday.

Around 7,500 households were left without electricity in the Landes department, according to French broadcaster TF1, with around 20 municipalities affected.

Fallen trees blocked roads and flooding was reported, while several routes were closed. Rail traffic between Dax and Hendaye was also interrupted.

Around 30 people took refuge in an emergency reception centre in Peyrehorade, one of the towns affected by the storm.

Flooding and evacuations in Italy

Northern and central Italy have also experienced severe storms following weeks of hot summer weather.

Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and strong winds affected areas including Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Tuscany, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna on 21 August, causing flooding, landslides and damage to roads and bridges.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that more than 350 people were evacuated in Lombardy alone, while several communities were temporarily isolated.

Rail services were affected in some areas, and Forlì Airport was closed for around an hour. A 75-year-old tourist in Florence was also injured by a roof tile brought down by strong winds, although her condition was not considered serious.

Portugal under weather warnings

Portugal has not experienced disruption on the same scale, but unsettled conditions have reached the country and several mainland districts are under yellow weather warnings today.

The latest information from the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) shows yellow warnings for rain and/or thunderstorms across a number of districts in northern and central Portugal, including Aveiro, Braga, Bragança, Coimbra, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Porto, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

IPMA warns that periods of rain or showers could at times become heavy. The warnings vary according to district and time of day.

The Algarve remains outside the weather warnings, with Faro currently shown at green level.

The unsettled weather marks a noticeable change from the hot and dry conditions that have dominated much of the summer, with heavy rainfall now affecting several parts of western and southern Europe.