Storm Therese is here on Lanzarote

A yellow rain alert has been added to the existing wind and high seas warnings as Storm Therese arrives on Lanzarote.

The alerts are now as follows:

Yellow alert for wind: From 3 pm today (Thursday 19^th March) to 6pm on Friday 20^th March. South-westerly winds with gusts that could reach 70 kph.

A second yellow wind alert is also in place from 9 am to 9pm on Saturday, 21^st March.

Yellow alert for rain:  From midnight tonight (Thursday 19^th) until noon on Friday 20^th March.  Rainfall of up to 15mms per hour is forecast.

Yellow alert for rough seas: From 9 am today (Thursday 19^th March) until 6pm on Friday 20^th.  Waves of 4-5 metres on northerly coasts, with south-west winds of up to 50-60 kph. High spring tides caused by tonight’s New Moon will make conditions around the coast even more unpredictable.

In view of the forecast, the Canarian Department of Education has suspended classes on Friday 20^th, and instructed schools to carry out lessons online wherever possible. Parents should contact their children’s schools for further information.

 Arrecife’s main port will also be closed from noon to midnight on Thursday, and the local carnival at Las Breñas, scheduled for this weekend, has been postponed for a week.

Although yellow alerts are the lowest level of warning, emergency services are advising that citizens do not undertake unnecessary journeys, stay away from exposed areas of the coast and reconsider any other activities that could expose them to risk.