Atlantic Storm Ernest in Mallorca

Aemet has already issued a red alert for coastal phenomena along the coast of Cantabria and the Basque Country.

Andalusia is on orange alert for very strong winds and choppy seas and warnings are also in place for snow and high winds in Aragon, Castilla y León and Madrid; strong winds and high seas in Asturias and Galicia and gale force winds in Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha; Murcia and the Basque Country.

A yellow alert has been issued for high winds and very rough seas in the Balearic Islands; strong winds in La Rioja; rough seas and high winds in the Valencian Community and stormy seas in Ceuta and Melilla.

Thunderstorms and persistent torrential rain is forecast in Galicia, Cantabria and the surrounding area on Tuesday.

The rest of the Peninsula will be wet and windy with more intense rainfall in mountainous areas but it should dry up later in the day.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are also forecast in the Balearic Islands, Melilla and Estrecho.

The rain will ease up in Eastern areas of the Peninsula on Tuesday afternoon but it will be wet in northern parts of the Canary Islands.

Heavy snowfall is expected above 800 metres in northern areas of the Peninsula; upwards of 600 metres in the eastern Pyrenees; above 1,000 metres in the southeastern mountains and above 900 metres in the Balearic Islands.

There will also be a noticeable drop in daytime temperatures on Tuesday in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with frost in mountainous areas in the north and southeast of the Peninsula, the Pyrenees, and eastern Castilla-La Mancha.

Very strong west and north westerly gusts of wind are predicted on the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, coastal and mountainous areas of Galicia, Cantabria, the Mediterranean and in northern, central and eastern parts of the Peninsula.

Mallorca

Here in Mallorca a yellow alert is in place for winds in excess of 40 kilometres an hour and it will be utterly miserable all day long with thunder and lightning and very heavy rain, particularly in the west of the Island.

Aemet has also issued a warning for rough seas and high waves, but while most of us might prefer to be at home with the heating on full blast, the stormy weather is a dream come true for surfers and windsurfers.

Dozens of them headed for Can Pastilla beach on Monday and according to a video tweeted by @TempsIB3 they had the time of their lives as the winds whipped up 2.2 metre high waves in the Bay of Palma.