Watch as surprise hailstorm hits Malaga turning Costa del Sol beaches white on Christmas Eve

This afternoon it has been raining heavily in the easternmost parts of the province. Aemet has issued an amber weather alert in the area until 9pm with a significant risk of up to 30mm of rain falling in an hour

Enrique Miranda / Eugenio Cabezas

Málaga

Wednesday, 24 December 2025, 17:33 | Updated 18:25h.

It's not quite a white Christmas, but it's probably as close as you can get in several places on the eastern Costa del Sol in Malaga province today. A storm that deposited hail stones surprised many residents during the afternoon of this Wednesday 24 December, Christmas Eve. Just after 1.30pm hours, a heavy rain and hail storm surprised residents of the Axarquia area, in towns such as Rincón de la Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Benajarafe and Cajiz and also in inland villages such as Almáchar and El Borge.

A waterspout was even clearly visible near Chilches, captured on video by Lui G. Marín while he was with his family. "It surprised us. We were watching the hail and we weren't expecting it. We saw it moving from one place to another across the sea, but it didn't touch land," he told SUR.

The forecast from Spain's state meteorological agency did suggest isolated storms for today until 6pm and temperatures below 10C in some parts of the Axarquia area. However, this afternoon it has activated the amber warning for heavy rain in the Axarquia, from 4pm to 9pm, which means significant risk up to 30mm of rain falling in an hour. Rainfall will continue to be locally heavy in the Axarquia, although with less intensity and moving eastwards, according to Aemet.

In Rincón de la Victoria the hailstorm was surprising due to its proximity to the city of Malaga, where at the same time the sun was shining and the skies were clear. The hail formed a white blanket on the ground, even on the beaches. The covering of hail on the roads also complicated the traffic on the A-7 motorway as it passes through the Axarquia. There is little visibility due to the rainfall and the road surface is very slippery, which means that drivers have to be very careful in the area. Rincón de la Victoria town hall has asked residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution and avoid unnecessary travel. Due to the rising river level, the road has been closed on the stretch between Benagalbón and Añoreta. "We recommend exercising extreme caution, not parking near riverbeds, and avoiding road travel," it added in a message on social media.

Furthermore, the Andalusian regional government's Ministry of the Interior has activated the Emergency Plan for Flood Risk, at the pre-emergency level, operational situation 0 – that is, the phase of monitoring and preventative control – in response to the amber alert for rain in the Malaga province area.

For their part, the 112 emergency services reported that since 4pm they have handled approximately ten incidents related to rain and hail in the Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga areas. The calls referred to localised flooding of homes and public roads. The heavy hailstorm disrupted traffic for over an hour on the A-7 mogtorway between kilometers 950 and 970, between Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga, forcing vehicles to reduce their speed. A few collisions were also reported, resulting in damage.

The heavy hailstorm recorded in the inland parts of the Axarquia happened between 2.40pm and 3pm, coinciding with the passage of a very active storm nucleus. The episode mainly affected the municipalities of Almáchar and El Borge, where the hail covered streets, rural roads and mountain areas, creating many very unusual scenes in the area. The storm also reached the rural area of Los Pepones, in the municipality of Vélez-Málaga, although with less intensity.

The mayors of Almáchar and El Borge, Antonio Yuste and Raúl Vallejo (PSOE), respectively, have told SUR that, for the moment, there is no evidence of significant material damage, although they have specified that they are awaiting a more detailed assessment in the coming hours, especially on roads and agricultural areas.