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While tempests and hurricanes have churned in the Atlantic and Pacific east, Europe has experienced severe conditions of its own. A weather disturbance that emerged over the Mediterranean Sea midweek drifted towards the northeast into the Balkan region on Thursday morning, producing extensive showers, thunderstorms and prolonged precipitation.

Continuing Rains and Severe Warnings

The system is predicted to continue into the end of the week, with forecasting tools showing 48-hour amounts of 80 to 130 millimeters of rain across much of the Balkan Peninsula. Severe weather alerts were declared for Serbia, southwestern Romania, Greece's northeast, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, emphasizing the threat of floods and danger to residents. High winds also forced the closure of educational institutions on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.

Chilly Air Intensifies Harshness

Frigid temperatures pulled in from eastern Europe worsened the severity, producing deep snow across the Dinaric mountain range, with several predictions estimating depths of as much as 80 centimeters by the weekend.

Earlier Floods in Spanish Regions

Previously, eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands endured serious floods as the remains of the former hurricane moved across the Iberian peninsula before coming to a halt over the Balearic waters. Valencia and the island of Ibiza were most impacted; The town of Gandia recorded 14 inches in a 12-hour period – more than 10 times its September average, while the island had 254mm in one day, its rainiest day since at least the mid-20th century.

Roads, transit hubs, parks, and educational facilities were obliged to cease operations, while a rain gauge near Aldaia registered over two inches in just 35 minutes, causing the local ravine to burst its banks. The floods come just shy of a year after destructive flooding in Valencia in 2024 that killed more than 230 people.

Typhoon Bualoi Affects Vietnam

Tropical storm Bualoi struck the coast across central Vietnam this past week, causing intense rainfall, powerful gusts, and huge sea swells. More than 300mm of precipitation was recorded within a 24-hour period on Monday morning, triggering rapid flooding and mudslides that obstructed over 3,000 highways and isolated local populations across provinces in the north. Many airplane journeys were disrupted or postponed, and rail transport between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were stopped.

There have been 36 deaths and 147 casualties, with 21 people still missing. Over 210,000 homes were damaged or flooded, with in excess of 126,000 acres of agricultural produce wiped out. Vietnam’s government has estimated that Bualoi has resulted in more than $350m in economic losses this week.