Storm Gloria batters Spain and France

20 January 2020 10:00 UTC–21 January 14:00 UTC. 26 and 27 January 10:00 UTC

Region

Balearic Islands, France, Spain

Satellites

Meteosat-11, Sentinel-3

Instruments

SEVIRI, OLCI, SLSTR

Channels/Products

Airmass RGB, True Colour, Sea Surface Temperature

Storm Gloria brought significant wind and rain to parts of Spain and France on 20 and 21 January 2020.

Last Updated

21 February 2023

Published on

20 January 2020

By Mark Higgins and Hayley Evers-King (EUMETSAT), Sancha Lancaster (Pactum), Aida Alvera Azcarate (University of Liege), Antonio Vecoli (MEEO)

A low pressure system developed over the Mediterranean Sea, developing significantly over night on 20/21 January. This brought significant wind and rain to areas of southern Spain, the Balearic Islands and France, leading to localised flooding and wind damage. Massive waves and storm surges were also recorded — according to the Spanish experts the storm generated a record-breaking significant wave height of 8.44m (27.69ft) off the city of Valencia.

Met-11 Airmass RGB, 21 January 09:00 UTC — Figure 1: Meteosat-11 Airmass RGB, 21 January 09:00 UTC

Météo France commented that such storms are common in autumn, when the water is much warmer, but rare in winter. At least nine people were reported to have been killed by the stormy conditions.

The storm can be clearly seen on the Meteosat-11 Airmass RGB (Figure 2) as it travelled over southern Spain on 20 and 21 January.

Figure 2: Meteosat-11 Airmass RGB, 20 January 10:00 UTC–21 January 14:00 UTC

After the storm, clear impacts could be seen in the ocean waters surrounding the coast of Spain. Suspended sediments (likely the result of a combination of flood water run-off and re-suspension by wind and waves) could be seen in a True Colour image from the Sentinel-3 OLCI instrument on 27 January (Figure 3).

Sentinel-3 OLCI True Colour, 27 January, 10:00 UTC — Figure 3: Sentinel-3 OLCI True Colour, 27 January 10:00 UTC

A cold water signature (again possibly associated to flooding run off) could also be seen in an image of sea surface temperature from the SLSTR instrument aboard the same satellite, on 26 January (Figure 4).