Weather tracker: storms race through Balearics as colder air pushes east

Extreme heat over Mediterranean begins to break down with cold front and low pressure creating strong winds

The extreme heat that had been affecting the Mediterranean began to break down over the weekend as colder air surged south-eastwards. A strong cold front, in conjunction with a rapidly deepening area of low pressure in the Mediterranean Sea led to an explosive show on Sunday, with severe thunderstorms racing through the Balearics towards Sardinia.

Palm trees were ripped out from the ground and boats toppled in harbours as strong winds raced through the archipelago, with a couple of official weather stations in Mallorca recording wind gusts of about 66mph (106kmph). Roads turned into rivers under the torrential downpours.