Major floods have hit southern Spain

On Thursday, two people died when their car was pulled by floods in the municipality of Caudete in Valencia.

More than 255,000 schoolchildren have been forced to stay home due to inclement weather, local authorities say.

In addition to Valencia, the extreme weather has also led to floods in the areas of Murcia and Castile-La Mancha, writes the Spanish newspaper El País.

In the city of Ontinyent in Valencia, it has not rained so much since measurements began in 1917, reports the meteorological agency Avamet. There, 150 people have had to be evacuated from their homes, writes El País.

The weather has also destroyed a bridge from the 16th century in Aielo de Malferit.

According to SVT's meteorologist Nitzan Cohen, it is a form of "cold bubble" that drives this rainy weather - where it is cold higher up in the atmosphere and warm in the lower layers.

- Many things need to "flap" in the weather for it to be this kind of weather phenomenon, he says.

During Friday, heavy rain and strong winds are expected in southern Valencia and northern Alicante.

- But then during Saturday and Sunday, this weather will slowly but surely move inward towards central Spain and Portugal and then it will become more fragmented, says Nitzan Cohen.