August has been wet, but not that wet

Visitors experienced unusually heavy rain earlier this month. | Teresa Ayuga

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma25/08/2015 00:00

With a few days still to go the end of the month, it can safely be said that this August has been one of the wettest in Mallorca's history. There has been an average of 39.1 litres (per square metre) of rain: 172% more than usual. In some parts of the island, this average has been exceeded significantly. Palma, for example, has had 50.3 litres, which is 214% more than is typical for August. Although it has been unusually rainy, this August won't be setting records. Since these started to be kept, Palma has known more rain on two occasions. In 1983, there were 97.4 litres, while in 2002 there were 94.

The rainfall this month was concentrated into two or three days, and no more rain is expected (though there were risks of showers in the Tramuntana on Tuesday). The temperatures are rising gradually once more to 33C or 34C, which are above the 30C norm. These temperatures will not, though, constitute require the issuing of a warning for high temperatures.

There may be general rainfall next week, as August turns into September, though the met agency is not able to confirm rain yet. In terms of temperatures, August will have been much more normal than July was, when temperatures were up to three degrees higher than usual. As far as water reserves are concerned, the aquifers were at 55% capacity in July, much the same as in the past three years.