1. sudden floods or heavy flows of water in a river or stream
2. sudden large amounts or series of something

Examples

• The recent rains caused dangerous spates in several mountain streams.
• After the storm, the river was in full spate and impassable.
• There have been spates of burglaries in the neighborhood recently.
• The company experienced spates of customer complaints after the product launch.
• Spates of cold weather damaged the crops this winter.
• The news triggered spates of panic buying at grocery stores.