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Although cyclones and tropical storms have swirled in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific, Europe has experienced extreme conditions of its own. An atmospheric depression that emerged over the Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the week moved northeast into the Balkan region on Thursday morning, bringing extensive downpours, stormy weather and lengthy precipitation.

Persistent Precipitation and Critical Alerts

The low-pressure area is expected to continue into Friday, with models indicating 48-hour period amounts of three to five inches of rainfall across a large part of the Balkan Peninsula. Red weather warnings were declared for the nation of Serbia, south-west Romania, north-east Greece, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, highlighting the danger of flooding and threat to life. High winds also closed schools on Zakynthos in the Ionian sea islands.

Frigid Air Adds Severe Conditions

Cold air drawn in from Eastern European regions added to the seriousness, producing deep snow across the Alpine region, with some models predicting accumulations of as much as 80 centimeters by the coming weekend.

Previous Floods in Spanish Regions

Earlier in the week, the eastern part of Spain and the Balearic Islands experienced devastating floods as the remains of Tropical Storm Gabrielle crossed the Spanish peninsula before stalling over the Balearic Sea. Valencia and the island of Ibiza were hardest hit; The town of Gandia measured over 350 millimeters in 12 hours – significantly exceeding its average for the month, while Ibiza had 10 inches in a full day, its wettest day since at least 1952.

Highways, transit hubs, green spaces, and school buildings were forced to close, while a measuring device near the area of Aldaia recorded over two inches in just 35 minutes, leading to the La Saleta waterway to overflow. The floods come almost a year after devastating inundations in Valencia in the previous year that killed more than 230 people.

Typhoon Bualoi Affects Vietnam

Typhoon Bualoi arrived onshore across the central part of Vietnam this past week, delivering torrential rain, strong winds, and large swells. In excess of 12 inches of precipitation was observed within a 24-hour span on Monday, leading to flash floods and rock slides that obstructed thousands of routes and cut off communities across the northern regions. Many airplane journeys were halted or rescheduled, and railway services between Hanoi and the southern metropolis were halted.

Officials confirmed 36 fatalities and 147 people injured, with 21 persons still missing. Hundreds of thousands of residences were harmed or submerged, with more than 51,000 hectares of farmland wiped out. The Vietnamese authorities has estimated that the typhoon has led to over $350 million in property damage this recent period.