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While tempests and typhoons have raged in the Atlantic and Pacific east, the continent has experienced intense weather of its own. A weather disturbance that emerged over the Mediterranean in the middle of the week traveled towards the northeast into south-eastern European countries on Thursday, causing broad downpours, electrical storms and extended precipitation.

Ongoing Rainfall and Serious Warnings

This weather pattern is expected to continue into Friday, with weather models suggesting 48-hour period accumulations of 80 to 130 millimeters of rain across much of the Balkans. Red weather warnings were declared for Serbia, southwestern Romania, Greece's northeast, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, highlighting the danger of flooding and risk to human safety. Strong winds also shut down educational institutions on Zakynthos in the Ionian Islands.

Chilly Air Intensifies Harshness

Chilly air masses drawn in from eastern Europe increased the seriousness, causing significant snowfalls across the Alpine region, with some models predicting accumulations of up to 80cm by the coming weekend.

Previous Inundation in Spain

Just days before, Spain's eastern coast and the Balearic Islands suffered devastating inundation as the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle passed over the Iberian peninsula before slowing over the Balearic Sea. Valencia and Ibiza were worst affected; The town of Gandia registered 356.8mm in 12 hours – more than 10 times its typical September rainfall, while the island had 254 millimeters in a full day, its rainiest day since at least the mid-20th century.

Streets, railway stations, green spaces, and schools were compelled to shut down, while one gauge near Aldaia registered 57 millimeters in just 35 minutes, causing the La Saleta waterway to overflow. The flooding come just shy of a year after catastrophic inundations in the region in 2024 that claimed the lives of hundreds of residents.

Tropical Cyclone Bualoi Affects Vietnamese Regions

Typhoon Bualoi arrived onshore across central Vietnam this week, causing torrential rain, powerful gusts, and huge sea swells. In excess of 12 inches of rain was measured within a 24-hour span on the start of the week, leading to rapid flooding and mudslides that blocked more than 3,000 roads and stranded communities across northern provinces. Numerous air travel routes were disrupted or postponed, and railway services between the capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were suspended.

There have been 36 lives lost and 147 people injured, with 21 persons still missing. Hundreds of thousands of residences were damaged or flooded, with in excess of 126,000 acres of rice and other crops wiped out. The Vietnamese authorities has assessed that the storm has resulted in over $350 million in damage to property this past week.