More Mallorca storms on way to ruin holidays after P&O cruise ship crash chaos
There are more storms forecast for Mallorca after the holiday hotspot was battered in recent days with winds getting so bad on the island that a P&O cruise ship crashed into a freight ship.
Footage from the island shows tourists running for cover as sun loungers and chairs fly past behind them after the winds broke the moorings of the cruise ship, when thousands of passengers were on board.
Brits who escaped to the Balearic Islands to try and get some last rays of sun this summer are set for more rain and wind with storms on the horizon.
After getting through the storms of the last few days, holidaymakers will be afforded a few days of calmer conditions, with just some showers, but temperatures upwards of 29C.
Two tourists run for cover after trying to brave the beach during the recent stormy weather (Playa de Palma, Mallorca / Facebook)
The storm has caused chaos at resorts at the popular holiday hotspot (Playa de Palma, Mallorca / Facebook)However, come the weekend, storms are seemingly set to return once more, BBC Weather forecasts. Temperatures will remain high but the Spanish island will be hit hard by wind and rain once more.
Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts
On their forecasts, they predict that today, the island will see intermittent showers with clear skies in places. It will remain sunny for the rest of the week before Saturday and Sunday are seemingly set to see the storms return. On Saturday, the storms will peak around 3-5pm and on Sunday they will be more widespread throughout the entire day. However, on both days winds are only forecast to be "moderate".
Recent days have seen a squall trigger a dangerous storm on the islands. A squall is a violent burst of wind that can often lead to destructive weather. This is typically a pretty short event, often measured in minutes, but sees a notable uptick in wind speed. Squalls are triggered by air rising explosively, these updrafts produce the storm clouds.
Not even two days ago, the packed P&O cruise ship carrying thousands of British passengers crashed into an oil tanker off the coast of Palma, after its moorings snapped in the weather. Holidaymakers were left stranded after gales sent the Britannia hurtling into another vessel in the Balearics.
It was reported that a storm “suddenly hit” the island with heavy rain and hail accompanied by strong 55 MPH gusts. The huge £473m ship was later anchored offshore following the incident. Passengers were told “this is not a drill” by the captain earlier after they heard a loud bang and saw debris floating in the water.
Passengers on board the cruise ship were left in tears after the crash as tables and chairs were thrown along the decks. The ship will now stay in Palma to allow for a technical assessment. Elsewhere on the island, holiday resorts were wrecked and sun loungers and parasols were uprooted. Footage shared by Wendy and Alan Penson, from Caerphilly, Wales, showed the biblical scenes at the resort, as sun loungers were blown right into the pool.
Wendy said: “It said to expect thunderstorms on the news but we saw the weather change and Alan said ‘start filming’, and we couldn’t believe how quickly it changed. It was just like a hurricane coming through from the sea into the cove. There is a small yacht opposite us and it ripped the sail off that. The Bali beds aren’t light, they’re made of steel, but the storm just took them like they were nothing.
"I was speaking with someone who works at the hotel and she said when the temperature starts to drop after a period of no rain, this tends to happen. But she said they’ve never known it like this before." Alan added: “The unexpected storm happened at about 10.49am Spanish time. It all happened very quickly, as seen in the video.”
Meanwhile, other holidaymakers had to run for cover, narrowly avoiding being hit by chairs blown about by the storm as two other tourists who had tried to brave the beach had to give up their plans and run, rubber rings still around their waists.
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