A parched Spain has emerged from drought only to face floods

VILANOVA DE SAU, Spain (AP) — As Spain choked on stubborn drought last year, a reservoir north of Barcelona emptied, revealing a medieval church.

But in the last few weeks, rising waters have again covered the Sant Roma de Sau church as the country's weather took an abrupt turn.

Drought relief came at a price, as flash floods forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes, closed schools and highways and swept cars away. While it can be difficult to identify climate change as the cause of a single event, scientists say it is making such swings between dryness and downpour ever more extreme.

The recent floods took place just months after a deadly deluge in Valencia. Here's a look at the volatile weather that led Spain out of a drought.

In the first 18 days of March, Spain received more than double the rainfall it normally gets in the month, according to Spain's national weather agency AEMET. That included in normally arid parts of the country such as the southern Andalusia region where rivers swollen from rainfall prompted authorities to evacuate hundreds of people from their homes.

Madrid got more rain in the first three weeks of March than any month since records began in 1893, said Rubén del Campo, a meteorologist and spokesperson at AEMET.

But weather swings are a fact of life in Spain.

“The blessing and curse of the Spanish climate is exactly that,” said Daniel Argüeso, a climate scientist at Spain's University of the Balearic Islands. "We have these periods of extended drought that usually end with these kinds of situations. Having said that, the rain we had in March has been quite exceptional.”

For now, the drought that began in 2023 is over. Reservoirs around the country are around 66% full on average, according to Spain's environment and ecological transition ministry. That’s better than they have been in a decade, del Campo said.

In Catalonia, the Sau reservoir that supplies water to Barcelona is now about 48% full, compared to less than 5% at the same time last year.

That's good news for Jordi Galabardes and his wife Montse Bufils, who live in the nearby village of San Martin Sescorts, in Catalonia. Last year, they couldn't water their garden due to water restrictions.

“In just three weeks, it's filled up a lot, which gives hope that we can recover all this," Galabardes said on Monday near the reservoir's edge.

How long the country's water reserves remain at healthy levels depends on factors like how much more springtime rain the country gets and just how hot and dry the summer is. But climate scientists predict that Spain will likely stay free of water restrictions at least through the summer.

“We’ve come out of drought, but it’s not that there is a huge excess of water,” del Campo said. “Spain is a country where water resources are never abundant.”

Climate change is likely making Spain's fluctuations more intense, climate scientists say. Around the world, rising temperatures stoked by climate change are speeding up the hydrological cycle in which water moves between Earth and the atmosphere. That is triggering more extreme weather, such as prolonged droughts and intense rainfall, climate scientists say.

A warmer atmosphere can also hold more water, about 7% more for every degree Celsius, scientists say. That means when it does rain, it's more likely to be heavy.

“We can now go several months without a drop of rain, and then have a major storm again in the summer," said Jorge Olcina, a geography professor at the University of Alicante in Spain. "In other words, we're losing the regularity of the rains.”

But attributing a single event like the rainfall this month to climate change remains difficult, in part due to Spain's natural weather extremes, Argüeso said.

“The fact that the variability is so large is an obstacle in measuring climate change,” he said.

The belfry an 11th century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The belfry an 11th century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The belfry an 11th century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

View of the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

View of the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

This combo of images shows from the top, a general view of the reservoir in Vilanova de Sau, Catalonia, Spain, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, and from the same spot on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

This combo of images shows from the top, a general view of the reservoir in Vilanova de Sau, Catalonia, Spain, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, and from the same spot on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

This combo of images shows from the top, an 11th century Romanesque church exposed in a reservoir in Vilanova de Sau, Catalonia, Spain, on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, and the same spot on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

View of the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

This combo of images shows from the top, an 11th century Romanesque church exposed in a reservoir in Vilanova de Sau, Catalonia, Spain, on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, and the same spot on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The belfry an 11th century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

PHOENIX (AP) — Kyle Tucker hit his first home run with the Chicago Cubs, leading his new team to a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night.

Shota Imanaga pitched seven effective innings as Chicago bounced back from Friday's 8-1 loss to Arizona. Ryan Pressly worked a rocky ninth inning for his first save with the Cubs.

Tucker had three hits. With one out in the fifth and Jon Berti aboard after a leadoff single, Tucker hit a drive to right off Brandon Pfaadt to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Tucker was acquired in a December trade with Houston.

Rookie Matt Shaw added his first major league homer for the Cubs, a pinch-hit drive to left in the seventh off Jalen Beeks.

Imanaga (1-0) allowed one run and three hits in his second start of the season.

Chicago had its lead cut to 4-3 on Eugenio Suárez's two-run drive off Pressly in the ninth. It was Suárez’s major league-high fourth homer this season.

With two out and two runners on, Corbin Carroll hit a chopper to shortstop Dansby Swanson. The speedy Carroll reached on an infield single, but pinch-runner Garrett Hampson overran third and was tagged by Swanson for the final out of the game.

Pressly was acquired in a trade with the Astros in January.

Pfaadt (0-1) allowed six hits in six innings in his first start since he agreed to a $45 million, five-year deal with Arizona.

Gage Workman made his MLB debut for the Cubs, batting eighth and playing third base. He struck out twice and made a nice play in the field, backhanding a grounder and throwing out Suárez.

Workman, a Rule 5 pick from Detroit in December, grew up in nearby Chandler and played at Arizona State.

The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong threw out Josh Naylor trying to advance to third on a fly to center field to end the Arizona fourth. Naylor was originally ruled safe by umpire Phil Cuzzi but the call was overturned on review.

The Diamondbacks went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

Chicago’s Matthew Boyd opposes Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez in a battle of lefties in Sunday’s series finale.

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Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga has a moment to himself in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Chicago Cubs' Matt Shaw, right, smiles after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Chicago Cubs' Matt Shaw, center, smiles after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, right, gets a forearm bump from Seiya Suzuki (27) after after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)