Weather on Tenerife – Another Storm Warning for Tenerife

Just when we thought it was all over, we get another storm warning for high winds. The worst were due to be at high altitudes, but gusts of 80 kph were forecast for the coast.

Whilst we tweeted about gloriously hot weather all week and oodles of sunshine, to scepticism from certain southern quarters who shall remain nameless, we waited for the inclement weather to hit, reading reports of rain in various parts of the island.

Well the inclement weather hit last night in the form of a loud howling wind which made sleep a bit of a fantasy. In truth the gusts were nowhere as strong as February’s, but what they lacked in strength, they made up for in noise aided and abetted by the cat’s accompanying wailing – ‘let me innnnnn, let me innnnnnn…’

Because of the direction the wind was coming from (SW) it was also hot and the sky was crystal clear showing a busy sea of sparkling stars. If I hadn’t been so knackered I might have appreciated their beauty a bit more at 4am.

This morning we woke to sunshine again, the lightest of April showers despite there being hardly any clouds (although to the west we could see some quite angry formations lingering), a rainbow arcing from Los Realejos to the sea and fresh snow on Teide.

And for all those doubters out there, here are the photos to prove that it is still sunny in Puerto de la Cruz.

Now if only I could find that pot of gold...

April and more snow on Teide

Weather Alerts in Tenerife: Yellow Alert for Big Waves

At this time of year there are regular weather warnings for high seas and big waves in particular. When people in Britain who are planning a visit to Tenerife hear about these, they’re understandably the cause of some concern.

When the alerts are purely for big waves there’s nothing to worry about… unless you ignore them and take a stroll along the top of the harbour wall.

We had a yellow alert this week and Richard, a windsurfing friend who knows about such things, had given me the heads up that there might be some mad fools trying to surf them.
On Wednesday, hoping that I might get to photograph the biggest wave of them all ‘El Bravo’ and even better, some loon surfing it, I headed to Punta Brava; the magnet for monster waves.

Unfortunately it was overcast, the lighting was bobbins from a photographic point of view and I’d mistaken overcast skies for cool ones. Wearing a hoodie had the same effect as sitting in a sauna fully clothed and it was soon wrapped around my waist.

Unfortunately there weren’t any surfers riding the waves, but the tsunami sized waves were impressive and I joined a few other wave watchers to be hypnotized by the huge rollers pounding away at the Punta Brava coastline.

The photos aren’t great, but here are a few to give you an idea of what a yellow alert for high seas really means in Puerto de la Cruz – nature putting on a spectacular show.

She's hoping she doesn't have to rescue anyone today

And she's too engrossed in her book to notice the waves

White Horses

Who'd live in a house like this?

They had a look and decided against it...

And this is why you don't walk along the sea defence wall when there's a yellow alert.

February on Tenerife

The wind’s been howling like a heartbroken wolf; the weather map on the Spanish met office site has stayed an appropriate canary yellow for most of the last couple of weeks; the waves have been clearing coastal defences like Grand National winners and some divine being keeps emptying his potty over most of the island and it sounds as though there’s a plague of Sammy Davis Juniors on my roof. That can mean only one thing; hold on a sec whilst I turn on my television…..

Just as I thought; channel after channel of people dressed in grotesquely bright costumes with painted faces making kazoo noises whilst they sing a tuneless ditty which lasts for hours; it’s the attack of the ‘murgas’…Carnaval is nearly upon us!