A sudden, aggressive storm struck the Balearic islands on Thursday night, sending holidaymakers at a Majorca resort running to their rooms screaming as lightning bolts rained down across hotel balconies. The storm was so fierce it snapped sun lounger umbrellas, with winds reaching 100 kilometers per hour in some parts.
The Mirror's Georgia Diebelius, on holiday at the Protur Safari Park, witnessed the chaos unfold just after 10pm local time. A severe danger to life alert had been issued earlier that day, and emergency services were called to 75 incidents caused by the storm, with around 30 trees felled across the islands.
Guests Flee as Lightning Strikes Balconies
Diebelius described the scene: "We had received orange weather warnings earlier in the day that a severe danger to life storm was set to arrive later in the evening." She and her family were at a show when they saw lightning in the distance and went inside, moments before "carnage" broke out.
"The rain was so heavy and the lightning was constant - it lit up the sky every few seconds," she said. "We could hear people screaming outside as they ran back to their rooms against the strong winds." Her sister, staying on the top floor, watched lightning bolts come down across her balcony, and part of her room was struck.
Resort Damage and Ongoing Alerts
The morning after revealed the storm's destructive path. "There are hundreds of tiny dead flies and mosquitoes that are being cleared and a lot of the hotel's parasols were destroyed in the storm," Diebelius added. "Some of them literally bent and snapped despite being metal."
The threat is not over for Brits on the islands. The whole of Mallorca remains on yellow alert for heavy rain until 6pm on Friday, with unsettled conditions and possible thunderstorms forecast to continue into Saturday.
Back home, the middle of August has brought much-needed rain after months of heatwaves caused drought and more than 1,000 wildfires. The coming weekend will stay relatively dry, but wet weather returns on Tuesday as thunderstorms move from south to north, soaking millions. Temperatures could rise into the high-20s and possibly reach 30C again next week, according to weather forecasting models.
The Met Office forecast for Sunday to Tuesday states: "Mostly dry with sunny spells, though cloud and a few showers may affect northern areas. Rain and thundery showers could develop in the south, spreading north later. Temperatures near average."
