ClimavisoStorms Hortense and Ignacio: wind across much of Spain, 20–22 January 2021
20 January 2021 to 22 January 2021. Updated 26 October 2026.
It coincides with storm Gaëtan, named by IPMA on 19 January 2021. AEMET named this storm Hortense on 20 January 2021. AEMET named this storm Ignacio on 22 January 2021.
Over 3 days, 99 of Spain's 182 warning zones had an orange or red warning for wind: 123 zone-days at orange or red, 0 of them red. The day with the most zones at orange or red was 22 January, with 96 zones.
22 January was the day with the most people in zones under an orange or red warning: 27.8 million people live there (INE municipal register, 2025).
How it compares
- It is number 28 of 119 episodes since June 2018 by zone-days at orange or red.
- Among the 26 wind episodes, it is number 3.
- There hadn't been a wind episode this widespread since February 2020.
Day by day
| Day | Red | Orange | Yellow | Orange or red warnings for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 20 January | — | 10 | 54 | wind |
| Thu 21 January | — | 17 | 39 | wind |
| Fri 22 January | — | 96 | 52 | wind |
Zones with a warning each day, at their highest level that day.
The zones
And 59 more zones with yellow warnings only.
What AEMET's stations measured
The most measured in the zones with an orange or red warning, on their warning days: a 204 km/h gust at Mirador del Cable, Parque Nacional Picos de Europa (Liébana) on 20 January.
| Zone | Strongest gust |
|---|---|
| Liébana | 204 km/h Mirador del Cable, Parque Nacional Picos de Europa · 20 January |
| Levante mallorquín | 186 km/h Son Servera · 22 January |
| Ibérica riojana | 156 km/h Valdezcaray · 22 January |
| Cordillera y Picos de Europa | 144 km/h Sotres, Parque Nacional Picos de Europa · 20 January |
| Sierra Tramontana | 144 km/h Sierra de Alfabia, Bunyola · 22 January |
| Noroeste de A Coruña | 132 km/h Estaca de Bares · 21 January |
| Sur de Mallorca | 130 km/h Palma de Mallorca, Aeropuerto · 22 January |
| Sistema Central de Segovia | 127 km/h Puerto Alto del León · 22 January |
| Interior norte de Castellón | 124 km/h Morella · 22 January |
| Meseta de Zamora | 124 km/h Villadepera · 22 January |
| Bajo Aragón de Teruel | 123 km/h Andorra, Horcallana · 22 January |
| Meseta de Valladolid | 123 km/h Fuente el Sol · 22 January |
| Centro y valle de Villaverde | 122 km/h Alto Campoo · 20 January |
| Menorca | 122 km/h Es Mercadal · 22 January |
| Ribera del Ebro de Zaragoza | 122 km/h Zaragoza, Valdespartera · 22 January |
| La Mancha conquense | 120 km/h San Clemente · 22 January |
| Oeste de A Coruña | 116 km/h Fisterra · 20 January |
| Cordillera Cantábrica de Palencia | 114 km/h Velilla del Río Carrión, Camporredondo de Alba · 22 January |
| Ibérica de Soria | 114 km/h Ólvega · 22 January |
| Prelitoral de Barcelona | 112 km/h Pontons · 22 January |
And 77 more zones with an orange or red warning.
For each zone, the highest value its AEMET stations measured on the episode's warning days (the lowest, for the low temperature), with the station and the day. Rain from 07:00 to 07:00 UTC; gust: the day's strongest. It is what the zone's stations measured, not every town, and a measurement, like a warning, is not damage.
How AEMET's warnings unfolded
The orange warning reached 123 zone-days. AEMET issued it ahead of time in 103 of them (median: 23 h) and for the current hour in the other 20: warnings are also raised as things unfold. The first warning of any level for those same days had come a median 23 h earlier.
| Zone | Day | First warning | Orange issued | For · notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Mariña | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Mon 18 Jan, 11:37 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Cordillera y Picos de Europa | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Mon 18 Jan, 11:37 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Miño de Pontevedra | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:40 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Noroeste de A Coruña | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:40 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Oeste de A Coruña | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:40 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Rias Baixas | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:40 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Suroeste de A Coruña | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:40 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Centro y valle de Villaverde | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:44 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Liébana | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:44 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Vertiente cantábrica de Navarra | Wed 20 | Sun 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Tue 19 Jan, 10:44 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| A Mariña | Thu 21 | Mon 18 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Wed 20 Jan, 21:36 | 08:00 · 10 h before |
| Centro de Lugo | Thu 21 | Tue 19 Jan, 23:01 yellow | Wed 20 Jan, 21:36 | 21:00 · 23 h before |
| Interior de A Coruña | Thu 21 | Tue 19 Jan, 23:01 yellow | Wed 20 Jan, 21:36 | 21:00 · 23 h before |
| Interior de Pontevedra | Thu 21 | Tue 19 Jan, 23:01 yellow | Wed 20 Jan, 21:36 | 21:00 · 23 h before |
| Liébana | Thu 21 | Tue 19 Jan, 11:56 yellow | Wed 20 Jan, 21:36 | 21:00 · 23 h before |
And 108 more zone-days.
The full timeline: 160 changes at orange or red
Only the changes involving red are listed: there were 160 in all.
AEMET's issue times, in mainland Spain time (Canary Islands in island time). Notice is the time from issue to the first hour the warning covered; a warning issued “for the current hour” runs from the hour it is published.
What this says and what it doesn't
A warning is an AEMET forecast, not a measurement or a damage report: it says a threshold is expected to be exceeded in a zone. A warning is not damage; a zone is not a building.
A zone-day is one warning zone with a warning on one day. Ten zones at orange on the same day make ten zone-days. A day with several warnings in one zone counts once, at its highest level.
Each zone has its own thresholds, so an orange heat warning in Asturias doesn't mean the same temperature as in Córdoba. More in how warnings work.
To cite: “Climaviso, from AEMET warnings”.
Source: official AEMET warnings, collected by Climaviso since June 2018.
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