Rain wreaks havoc across the island

by Irene Taylor
JUST a week after the island's weather stations registered temperatures of above 30ºC for the first time this year, the thermometer began to slide down and yesterday, persistent rain caught many people unawares. This included the organisers of the tennis tournament in Costa d'en Blanes, which was to have pitted local players including Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya against “the rest of the world.” All tickets had been sold days in advance and disappointed fans could be seen huddled under umbrellas, until it was eventually announced that the games would be postponed until today and the same tickets would be valid. It was not just the tennis tournament and tourists who had hoped to spend the day at the beach who were disappointed yesterday. The bad weather at sea once again illustrated how vulnerable the islands can be. The Iscomar ferry company was forced to cancel the 2.30pm arrival of the Nura Nova, at the port of Alcudia, after she was forced to seek shelter in the port of Mahon on her first crossing of the morning to Ciutadella. The Ramon Llull of the Balearia shipping company was also forced to moor in Mahon rather than Ciutadella, after setting sail from Alcudia.
The prediction for today is more cloudy skies and risk of rain, and also a danger of high winds in Minorca and the northeast of Majorca, coupled with a further drop in temperatures. But despite the cloudy skies and rain, local weatherman Agustí Jansá said that in general, temperatures are between 1º and 2.5º C higher than average for this time of year. So it looks as though we will be in for another long, hot summer.