Storm Marta: Another storm to batter holiday hotspots in Spain and Portugal this weekend bringing more heavy rain

State weather agency AEMET warned that another storm, Marta, would hit the peninsula on Feb 7, bringing more abundant rainfall. Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson, said more heavy rain would fall on Saturday.

“Following a slight letup on Friday, Storm Marta will arrive, bringing heavy rain and very strong winds on Saturday to areas that have already been very adversely affected by the heavy rains of recent days,” he said. He added: “Once Storm Marta moves off on Sunday, further weather fronts will arrive bringing less intense, but still significant, rainfall to most parts of the peninsula apart from Mediterranean areas.”

Aemet has forecast rain accumulations of up to 60mm in 12 hours around Ronda. The warning in the Guadalhorce Valley and along the coast is for gusts from the west of 70km/h and waves of up to three metres.

Mainland Portugal is expected to face worsening weather conditions from Saturday morning as Storm Marta moves in, bringing heavy rain, snowfall, strong winds, and rough seas. The storm is also likely to cause rivers and streams south of the Tagus River to rise again, increasing the risk of flooding.

According to Portugal’s Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the worst conditions will begin in the southern region, particularly along the coast. Persistent and sometimes intense rainfall is forecast, along with wind gusts reaching around 100 km/h, and up to 120 km/h in mountainous areas.

Forecasters expect the heaviest rainfall to fall south of the Tagus River, including the greater Lisbon area, with the highest totals likely in Alentejo and the Algarve mountains. Rainfall could reach around 60 mm within 24 hours, which is expected to cause rivers and streams in these regions to rise again, increasing the risk of flooding, according to Portugal’s Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

It comes after Storm Leonardo has already lashed the Iberian peninsula this week, killing one person. The storm forced the evacuation of more than 7,000 people and prompted calls to postpone the second-round of Portugal’s presidential election.

Authorities in Andalucía, where more than 7,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, evacuated residential areas near the Guadalquivir River in Córdoba overnight because the dramatic rise in water levels. About 1,500 residents have been ordered to leave their homes in Grazalema, a mountain village popular with hikers, as water seeped through the walls of houses and cascaded along steep cobbled streets.

In Portugal’s second-biggest city, Porto, the River Douro overflowed in the early hours on Friday, causing minor flooding at riverside cafe terraces. In the country’s south, large parts of the town of Alcácer do Sal, by the River Sado, remained semi-submerged for a third day.