Christmas Day 2025 was drenched by relentless rain across the Vega Baja, delivering one of the wettest festive days locals can remember. A passing storm system brought cold conditions — temperatures struggled to reach 10°C — and steady rainfall from the early hours through much of the morning.
Rainfall totals were highest along the southern coast, with up to 50 litres per square metre recorded in areas such as Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Pilar de la Horadada. Torrevieja alone registered around 49 mm, while Guardamar del Segura exceeded 37 mm. Even inland and northern parts of the Bajo Segura, though less affected, still received notable accumulations of around 20 litres, significant for this time of year. According to data from AVAMET, Proyecto Mastral and Meteorihuela, rain fell in all 27 municipalities of the comarca.
The year is ending with exceptionally wet figures for a traditionally semi-arid area. Many zones, particularly along the southern coastline, have now surpassed 350 litres per square metre for the year — well above the long-term average of 280 litres. Sierra Escalona stands out, with totals set to exceed 500 litres, largely due to torrential downpours during October’s DANA episode.
The persistent rain also washed out one of the province’s most popular festive events: the traditional Christmas Day celebrations on La Zenia beach. Poor weather and surface water runoff — the beach sits at the mouth of a coastal ravine — forced the suspension of activities, while the coastal road running parallel to the beach was temporarily closed to traffic.
For agriculture, however, the rain has been largely welcome. Gentle to moderate rainfall over 24 hours has been highly beneficial for the Vega Baja’s huerta, providing natural irrigation, reducing the need for watering cycles and helping soils retain moisture during the colder weeks ahead.
So far, the rainfall has not significantly reached the upper Segura basin, limiting any immediate impact on reservoir levels. However, conditions are expected to move inland, where precipitation may fall as snow in higher areas of Albacete, Jaén and Murcia. Festive winter scenes have already appeared in places such as Santiago-Pontones, Riópar, and on Alicante’s highest peaks, including Aitana, where snowfall has been recorded above 1,500 metres.
