Rain alert: up to 100 l/m², Valencia shuts flood-zone schools

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• A storm episode from Wednesday 30 September to Friday 2 October has led Valencia to suspend classes in schools located in flood-prone areas, including in El Saler and Pinedo.
• AEMET's heaviest forecast, reported by CastellonDiario, is up to 40 litres per square metre in one hour and up to 100 litres in the orange-warning zone of northern Castellón.
• Valencia city itself should stay dry on Wednesday 30 September, with Open-Meteo forecasting overcast skies, 22 to 27 degrees and only a 5% chance of rain.
• Rocafort Antic, a free vintage and antiques market with 30 exhibitors, takes place on Sunday 4 October in Rocafort, which you can reach by metro.
• According to Las Provincias, an electrical fault cut power to 3,500 residents in Valencia, and about 1,000 of them went 21 hours without electricity.

Today's essentials

Rain alert: up to 100 l/m², Valencia shuts flood-zone schools. AEMET has put the Comunitat Valenciana on weather warnings for heavy rain, and Valencia City Council has suspended classes on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 October in schools located in flood zones and in towns hit by the October 2024 DANA.

Valencia Secreta was first to report the news, with a yellow warning this afternoon and an orange one tonight for inland Valencia and Castellón. Other outlets give a different timeline, however. Teleprensa and Interdiario place a yellow warning for heavy rain on Wednesday 30 September from 15:00 to 23:59 in inland Alicante and the southern interior of Valencia province. CastellonDiario and esDiario report that the orange warning (significant danger) applies on Thursday 1 October from 14:00 to 23:50. We have not been able to confirm which timeline is final, so check the official AEMET bulletin. The sources also disagree on where the orange warning applies. CastellonDiario limits it to the northern half of Castellón province, while esDiario extends it to all of Castellón and Valencia provinces plus the northern Alicante coast.

Figures quoted by CastellonDiario from AEMET: in the orange zone, up to 40 litres per square metre in one hour and up to 100 litres per square metre over the episode. In the yellow zones, which include the rest of Castellón and Valencia, the forecast is up to 30 litres in one hour and 80 litres in twelve hours. Both CastellonDiario and esDiario also warn of thunderstorms, hail and very strong gusts, especially in northern Castellón. A headline in elPeriódic mentions 160 litres per square metre, but no other source confirms that figure and it may be a total over several days.

In Valencia city, COPE and Libertad Digital report that the following are closed: CEIP Luis Santángel, IES El Saler, CEIP Pinedo, the Escuela Infantil Municipal Pinedo and the Universidad Popular Pinedo. All other schools in the city stay open, but outdoor activities, including playground breaks, are banned. The Generalitat's Directorate General for Emergencies has asked residents and town halls to take "maximum caution" during an episode expected to last from 30 September to 2 October.

The 112 Comunitat Valenciana emergency service advises closing doors and windows, avoiding unnecessary journeys, never crossing ravines or flooded areas, and following official channels for updates.

What this means for you: if your child goes to one of the schools listed in El Saler or Pinedo, plan childcare for Thursday 1 and Friday 2 October. If you need to drive inland or north towards Castellón on Thursday afternoon, move the trip or bring it forward. According to CastellonDiario and esDiario, the orange warning runs on Thursday 1 October from 14:00 to 23:50.

Weather today

Wednesday 30 September: grey but mostly dry. Open-Meteo forecasts overcast skies in Valencia city on Wednesday 30 September, with temperatures from 22 to 27 degrees, only a 5% chance of rain and wind up to 10 km/h.

Inland, Chelva ranges from 18 to 26 degrees with scattered showers and a 25% chance of rain, so pack a light waterproof if you are heading into the hills. On the southern coast, Xeraco matches the city at 22 to 27 degrees under cloud, with a 13% chance of rain and wind up to 9 km/h. Today is the calmest day of the week, so it is a good moment to run errands before the more unsettled Thursday.

The calm will not last: AEMET has issued weather warnings for heavy rain and storms across the Valencia region, covering a storm episode that runs from Wednesday 30 September to Friday 2 October. According to CastellonDiario, the agency's heaviest forecast is up to 40 litres per square metre in one hour and up to 100 litres per square metre in the orange-warning zone of northern Castellón.

As a precaution, Valencia City Council has suspended classes on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 October in schools located in flood-prone areas, including El Saler and Pinedo. If your children attend school there, check the council's and the school's notices before Thursday morning.

Transport & traffic

• A vintage market you can reach by metro on 4 October. Rocafort Antic, which Valencia Secreta calls the province's biggest sale of antiques, collectibles and vintage objects, holds its second edition on Sunday 4 October, with free entry and 30 exhibitors. Its main selling point for anyone without a car is that Rocafort is on the Metrovalencia network, so there is no parking to hunt for and no need to drive out of the city. Check the Sunday timetable before you go, since weekend services run less often than on weekdays.

What's changing for you

• Power cut leaves 1,000 homes dark for 21 hours. An electrical fault in Valencia cut power to 3,500 residents, and about a thousand of them were without electricity for 21 hours, Las Provincias reports. If you were affected, note the exact times the power went off and came back, photograph any spoiled food or damaged appliances, and contact your electricity distributor to report it. This record will help if you decide to file a claim.

Local news to know

• Ceiling reportedly falls at the bus station. Users on the r/valencia forum report that part of the ceiling has fallen at València's bus station, even though the Generalitat had promised to finish renovation works there in the first quarter of 2023.
• Pérez Llorca attacks Sánchez over housing and water. Generalitat president Pérez Llorca said Pedro Sánchez is "more focused on resisting than governing" and accused the central government of neglecting housing shortages and water supply, Libertad Digital reports.
• Valencia pupils join global wellbeing initiative. Students in Valencia have joined a worldwide initiative that promotes wellbeing as a pillar of education, according to Valencia Plaza.
• Dénia bravas make an international top 18. Valencia Bonita reports that a restaurant in La Xara, a district of Dénia, has reached the final of the 7th International Patatas Bravas Contest (Palencia Brava / Una de Bravas 2026) as one of 18 finalists.

Tonight and tomorrow, Valencia

• Anselm Kiefer visits his València show. The German artist Anselm Kiefer has visited his major exhibition in València, Valencia Plaza reports, so this is a good week to see it if it is on your list.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow