Road safety warning issued amid heavy rain and gale-force winds

The Royal Gibraltar Police has issued a road safety advisory as heavy rain and strong winds affect driving conditions, with the public urged to travel only if absolutely necessary.

Drivers are being advised to reduce their speed, brake earlier and leave a larger gap from the vehicle in front. Motorists are also urged to keep their lights and windscreen wipers on to improve visibility, avoid standing water, be mindful of pedestrians and never attempt to drive through areas that are visibly flooded.

Cyclists, PLET users and motorcyclists have been urged to take particular care following reports of strong wind gusts across several locations.

An RGP East Side advisory strongly recommends that moped riders, motorcyclists and pedestrians avoid travelling through the eastern side of Gibraltar due to significant windy conditions affecting Sir Herbert Miles Road and Europa Advance Road, particularly on the approaches to Dudley Ward Tunnel.

In addition, strong winds affecting Bishop Canilla House have resulted in emergency services attending the area. As a result, officers have introduced a temporary diversion to prevent vehicles from entering Edinburgh Estate from Europort Road.

Meteorologist Steph Ball from MeteoGib gave an update at 10.15am to her social media followers and said, “very poor conditions out there now with winds blowing up to Gale force across the area, generating some significant water devils (sometimes called water spouts) over the East side where descending rotors are causing severe turbulence on the water.”

She also reported that the highest gusts recorded up to 10am included 45 knots (83km/h) in Algeciras, 42 knots (78km/h) at the MeteoGib weather station, 40 knots (74km/h) at Gibraltar Airport and 36 knots (67km/h) at Ocean Village.