The sea level rose dramatically in Puerto Soller. | Joan Roig

TW

There was a "rissaga" in Puerto Soller yesterday, a meteotsunami. The sea level, according to fishermen, rose by 1.74 metres. It was the strongest rissaga in Soller since 1999.

There was a similar phenomenon elsewhere. In Ciutadella, Minorca, the rise was less dramatic. The Ciutadella area is typically most affected by this type of event, which is common in the Balearics in summer. It is caused by a rapid change in barometric pressure.

The Ciutadella rissaga was 92 centimetres. As a precaution, Aemet put out an amber alert for coastal conditions in Minorca until 4pm yesterday. The phenomenon didn't cause any delays to ferries, for which there is high demand at present because of the Sant Joan fiestas in Minorca.

Aemet, meanwhile, are advising that southerly winds from Africa will push temperatures up to as high as 40C in the south of Spain this weekend. The met agency suggests that much of the country is in for the first heatwave of the summer. This is most likely to be evident in Majorca from Tuesday onwards. Aemet weather stations on the island were yesterday forecasting midweek maximums of 35 and 36C.