Storm hits Ibiza: 11.2 l/m² in Sant Antoni, schools shut early

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• A violent burst of rain swept Ibiza and Formentera at midday on Thursday 17 September, leaving Sant Antoni as the worst-hit town according to Periódico de Ibiza.
• Open-Meteo forecasts storms across the whole archipelago on Thursday, with highs around 26 degrees and rain probabilities above 80 percent, plus hail expected over Formentera.
• Ibiza airport reported widespread delays on Thursday affecting both departures and arrivals, while AENA carried out emergency roof repairs on the Menorca control tower ahead of more rain.
• The Balearic housing observatory OHIB found that homes advertised online in Maó and Ciutadella are priced more than 30 percent above the value later recorded in the deed, according to Es Diari.
• Heavy machinery arrived at the Son Bordoy site in Mallorca, where developer Pryconsa plans 750 homes, even as a court dispute over part of the land continues, Ultima Hora reports.

Today's essentials

Storm hits Ibiza: 11.2 l/m² in Sant Antoni, schools shut early. A sharp burst of rain swept Ibiza and Formentera around midday on Thursday 17 September, hitting Sant Antoni hardest with 11.2 litres per square metre logged by 15:30 and pushing authorities to cancel all afternoon classes across both islands.

The rain fell unevenly across the Pitiusas. By the same 15:30 reading, Formentera had taken 7.4 litres per square metre and Vila (the town of Eivissa) 7.3, while Sant Joan de Labritja registered 4.6 and Ibiza airport just 3.9, according to Periódico de Ibiza. Those gaps explain why Sant Antoni de Portmany, on the island's west coast, ended up carrying the brunt of the episode.

AEMET kept an orange warning active until 17:59 on Thursday, having forecast up to 50 litres per square metre in a single hour, or as much as 80 over two to three hours, with gusts not expected above 60 to 70 km/h. Protección Civil went further and pushed an ES-Alert to mobile phones in the affected zones, urging 'máxima precaución' against the downpours and wind. The island's fire service logged 14 call-outs tied to the storm, including fallen branches in Vila, Sant Antoni and Sant Josep de sa Talaia, two cases in each.

The heaviest practical impact landed on families. The Dirección de Emergencias and the regional education department suspended every afternoon class across all schools in Ibiza and Formentera, asking parents to collect children where possible while confirming that schools stayed open as safe waiting areas, as reported by Noudiari.es. On the roads, the sudden water turned the Pitiusas network chaotic right at the school pick-up window. Sant Antoni also pushed several municipal activities to the following Tuesday, including a volunteer clean-up day that had been set for Thursday morning.

What this means for you: if you live on Ibiza or Formentera, the disruption is not over. Periódico de Ibiza reports that a new AEMET orange warning is expected on Friday morning, running until 11:59, after the alert eased to yellow overnight. Keep the ES-Alert function enabled on your phone, avoid low-lying roads and underpasses when the sky darkens, and check your school's messaging channel before the afternoon run, since class schedules can change at short notice.

Weather today

Sant Antoni hardest hit as storms lash Ibiza, afternoon classes cancelled. A sudden midday downpour lashed Ibiza and Formentera on Thursday 17 September, leaving Sant Antoni as the worst-hit town with 11.2 litres per square metre according to Periódico de Ibiza, and all afternoon classes were cancelled across both islands.

AEMET kept its orange warning in force through the afternoon and a fresh one is expected on Friday morning, so keep waterproofs to hand and check for notices before the school run: with afternoon classes called off across Ibiza and Formentera, families should confirm arrangements directly with each centre.

For the wider picture, Open-Meteo forecasts a stormy day right across the Balearics. In Palma the day runs from a low of 21 to a high of 26 degrees, with storms, an 85 percent chance of rain and wind reaching 17 km/h, so an umbrella and waterproof shoes are the sensible call rather than the light layers of recent weeks.

The rest of Mallorca looks much the same: around Andratx, Open-Meteo expects 21 to 26 degrees, storms and an 83 percent rain probability with lighter wind up to 12 km/h. Formentera is the one to watch, with 22 to 26 degrees, storms carrying hail, an 80 percent chance of rain and stronger gusts up to 25 km/h. Plan outdoor errands for gaps between cells and keep an eye on the sky before heading to the coast.

Transport & traffic

• Widespread delays at Ibiza airport. Ibiza airport ran widespread delays on Thursday, hitting a large share of the day's scheduled departures and arrivals, according to Periódico de Ibiza. The knock-on effect matters well beyond the terminal: with the storm system sitting over the Pitiusas, a delay on one rotation ripples through later flights, so travellers connecting through Palma or the mainland should build in extra buffer and confirm status with their airline before leaving home. If you are picking someone up, check the live board rather than the printed schedule.
• AENA fixes Menorca control tower roof before the rain. AENA carried out urgent repairs on Thursday to leaks in the roof of the Menorca airport control tower, ahead of forecast rainfall in the coming days, Es Diari reports. The intervention is preventive rather than a sign of disruption at Menorca airport itself, aimed at keeping the tower watertight while the same weather system that soaked the Pitiusas edges towards the rest of the archipelago. For passengers, the practical takeaway is simply that operations there should hold up better through the wet spell once the work is done.

What's changing for you

• Homes in Maó and Ciutadella listed 30% above deed price. The new Balearic housing observatory (OHIB) found that homes advertised online for sale in Maó and Ciutadella carry an asking price more than 30 percent higher than the figure later recorded in the deed, according to Es Diari. If you are house-hunting on Menorca, treat the online asking price as a starting point, not the real market value: the Govern's observatory suggests there is meaningful room to negotiate, and the sale price registered in the escritura is the number that actually reflects what buyers pay. Before making an offer, ask your agent or gestor for comparable deed prices in the same street or barrio rather than relying on portal listings alone.

Local news to know

• Machinery moves in at Son Bordoy as court fight continues. Developer Pryconsa has begun bringing heavy machinery onto the Son Bordoy site, where 750 homes are planned, around 600 of them with some form of protection, even though a legal dispute over part of the land is still unresolved, Ultima Hora reports.
• Sant Jordi 118-home project promises archaeological oversight. The promoters of a 118-home development in Sant Jordi say the works include archaeological supervision and will respect all protected elements, after weeks of neighbourhood concern over the demolition of a house and a dry-stone barraca, according to Ultima Hora.
• Spain told to overhaul tax on foreign investment funds. Spain will have to rework its non-resident income tax rules to ensure full compliance and tax neutrality between domestic and foreign collective investment vehicles, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
• New EU cash rule: 10,000 euro cap with a non-resident exception. A new pan-EU limit caps cash payments at 10,000 euros under Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, part of the bloc's revamped anti-money-laundering framework, with a specific exception for non-residents, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

See the full agenda, tonight and tomorrow