THE Costa del Sol was rocked by gale force winds last night which uprooted trees and blew over Christmas decorations.
Despite most weather apps predicting clear skies and calm conditions, areas such as Marbella suddenly became very overcast on Wednesday afternoon.
There were pockets of showers before a strong wind began to pick up in the evening.
Videos shared online showed trees being uprooted and blowing along pavements in the centre of Marbella.
Meanwhile a huge metal Christmas tree on a roundabout in San Pedro de Alcantara was completely knocked over by the gusts.
The windy night came after forecasters gave their weather predictions for the coming festive period.
A large anticyclone will dominate across Malaga province with no rain and temperatures possibly exceeding 20 degrees on Christmas Day on some parts of the coast, according to the State Meteorological Agency(Aemet).
For Christmas Eve, sunny skies will predominate, with some cloudy intervals on the coast, with temperatures similar to those recorded this week.
The maximums, which in general will be between 16 and 19 degrees, may get above 20 degrees in coastal areas of Malaga province- especially on the west coast.
During the evening and night, minimums will range between 7 and 10 degrees on the coast, and inland, a chillier 2 to 5 degrees.
On Christmas Eve, temperatures between 7am and 6pm in Malaga, Marbella, and Velez-Malaga will be between 10 and 18 degrees, while Ronda and Antequera are forecast to range between 4 and 16 degrees.
For Christmas Day, a couple of extra degrees are predicted for for municipalities such as Velez-Malaga, Torremolinos, Rincon de la Victoria, Estepona and Manilva, although the change will not be massively noticeable.
As the days tick down towards the end of the year, 2023 will go down as the driest and warmest in Malaga province for six decades as the area remains in a long-term drought.
The autumn which ended in late November was particularly dry and is the tenth with the least rainfall collected since 1961- the year in which modern records began.
