Civil Protection has sent an Es-Alert message to mobile phones in six regions in the north of Catalonia this Saturday, given the forecast of strong winds in the coming hours. The text recommends restricting mobility and outdoor activities on Sunday. The trains will not run this Sunday on the Figueres-Portbou (Girona) and Vic (Barcelona)-Ripoll (Girona) sections due to the expected weather conditions, at least until 1 p.m., Renfe sources report.
Imma Solé, deputy director of Civil Protection of the Generalitat, has informed the media that the message has been sent to the regions of Solsonès, Bergueda, northern Cerdanya, Ripollès, Garrotxa and Alt Empordà.
The Meteocat service has launched this Saturday a red warning for these regions of the Pre-Pyrenees and the Pyrenees in anticipation of a wind storm hitting that area of the territory on Sunday with gusts of 90 kilometers per hour, a speed that will be higher at high altitudes.
The storm, explained Solé, will begin during the night of Saturday but it is expected to be especially intense between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The strong wind will affect, in general, the entire Catalan territory, but it will have more impact in the regions that have been the subject of the warning message, and it is also expected to blow strongly in the area of Lleida and Camp de Tarragona, according to Meteocat predictions.
The storm will also be accompanied by heavy snowfall on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, with accumulations of between thirty and forty centimeters, which, added to the wind, can cause blizzards at some levels.
In addition, stormy seas are expected on the Costa Brava, in Girona, with a danger level of four on a scale of six and waves of more than 2.5 meters.
Given this scenario, Civil Protection has activated its Ventcat prevention plan and its Procicat territorial protection plan in the alert phase. “We ask for caution due to wind, snow and waves,” Solé reiterated.
Civil Protection recommends, due to these phenomena, fixing facade elements, avoiding garden areas due to the possible fall of branches, limiting activities in natural areas and being attentive when driving, especially in maneuvers such as overtaking, among other measures.
It also recommends not going near breakwaters, breakwaters or boardwalks and, in the mountains, due to snowfall, not leaving authorized areas, such as ski slopes.
