Bali in the Atlantic: Polar Trough Creates Spectacular Tenerife Waterfalls
A polar trough, driven by a low-pressure system that has brought intense rain and cold to these final days of the Christmas holidays, has created stunning scenes in the ravines of Tenerife, particularly in the metropolitan area. The waterfalls captured in photos and videos by local resident Javier Duran, visible on his social media, look as if they were taken on the Indonesian island of Bali. But they are, in fact, from Tenerife.
An Unprecedented Torrent
This hiking, nature and photography enthusiast has taken advantage of the heavy rainfall from this cold front to explore the Barranco de Santos and the Valle de Tabares, between Santa Cruz and La Laguna. The result is impressive. “I have very rarely seen so much water rushing through the ravines,” said Javier Duran on Tuesday 6 January before setting out on another trip in search of waterfalls in Tenerife. “The only time I’ve seen anything like this before was during Storm Filomena back in 2021,” he stated.
The Meteorological Cause
The persistent, and at times heavy, rainfall affecting the Canary Islands originates from a portion of the polar trough that has covered mainland Spain in snow in recent days. Driven by a very intense Azores High, some scattered clouds have reached the Archipelago. In this way, “at low levels of the atmosphere we have the trade winds, but at medium and high levels there is the deep trough,” explains Víctor Quintero, provincial delegate of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
As Quintero warns, this weather situation – which is now completely unrelated to Storm Francis – will remain active in the Archipelago for the coming days and, at least, “until the high-pressure system moves back to its usual position.” Indeed, on Tuesday rainfall continued in many parts of Tenerife, though with less persistence than on Monday, when the water did not prevent the Three Kings from arriving at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium or parading through parts of the island like Santa Cruz and La Laguna.
Rain, Cold, and a Welcome Respite
Along with the rain, it has been very chilly. Temperatures dropped below zero in the highest areas of Tenerife and La Palma: on Tuesday, -3.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Izaña, on Mount Teide, and -0.8 at Roque de Los Muchachos. The heaviest morning rainfall in Tenerife was in La Victoria de Acentejo (5.6 litres per square metre) and in Llano de los Loros, La Laguna (4.8). Rain will continue to fall in the coming hours, though mainly as drizzle.
The constant precipitation during this holiday period in the Archipelago has provided relief, especially for Tenerife, which remains in a state of water emergency due to droughts in previous years, although the Island Council is considering ending this declaration in the coming weeks. The abundant water running through the ravines is creating brown tongues of discolouration at their mouths as it washes soil out to sea. Although no alerts are in place, authorities are advising caution on the roads and prudent driving.
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