Spain's weather service Aemet said about 10 centimetres (four inches) of rain fell in the space of several hours near Barcelona.

Spain's Renfe train company suspended all train travel throughout Catalonia for a few hours as a precaution, before resuming service later in the day.

A hospital in Barcelona was flooded and had to refuse patients, while a plane that took off from Barcelona for the United States had to turn back after its nose was damaged by hail.

Other regions of the north such as Aragon were also hit by heavy rain Saturday.

Last October, torrential rains sparked devastating floods in the eastern province of Valencia, killing 225 people and causing widespread destruction, the country's deadliest such disaster in decades.

vab/gv/jj

X