Civil Protection activates Ventcat alert for strong winds across Catalonia until Friday

Forecast indicates gusts of up to 90 km/h in the Pyrenees, affecting the coastal and pre-coastal areas of Tarragona and Central Catalonia.

Generic image showing the effects of strong wind, such as bending trees or blurred movement on a road.
IA

Generic image showing the effects of strong wind, such as bending trees or blurred movement on a road.

Civil Protection of the Generalitat has activated the Ventcat Plan alert phase due to the forecast of strong winds across much of Catalonia, expecting gusts up to 90 km/h until Friday.

The special emergency plan for wind risk in Catalonia (Ventcat) has been activated due to forecasts indicating wind gusts of 90 km/h this Wednesday in the Pyrenees. Starting in the evening, the probability of exceeding this threshold will increase, also affecting the Pyrenees and Eastern Pre-Pyrenees.
The situation will extend into the early hours of Thursday, when strong winds will persist in the Pyrenees and spread to the coastal and pre-coastal regions of Tarragona. By morning, the probability of exceeding 72 km/h will be high in Alt and Baix Penedès, as well as the central coast and pre-coast. Although the phenomenon will decrease in the afternoon, it will return to affect almost the entire pre-coastal area of the country in the evening.

Civil Protection urges extreme caution when traveling by road and during outdoor activities, especially in high-wind risk areas.

The wind episode will be widespread across the territory on Friday, January 9, with a higher probability of exceeding 72 km/h in the coastal and pre-coastal regions. The wind will blow from the west. At high altitudes in the Pyrenees, the threshold may be exceeded, and there is a risk of 'torb' (blizzard), a phenomenon that severely reduces visibility.
In parallel, the alert phase of the PROCICAT plan for the intense cold episode that affected Catalonia since January 5 has been deactivated. During this episode, 16 municipalities activated their local plans, and the Red Cross mobilized additional shelter resources. However, the pre-alert for the Neucat plan remains in place for expected snowfall at high altitudes in the Western Pyrenees until Thursday 8 morning.