The weather will take an important turn in Spain after several days with mild temperatures and almost spring atmospherel. A atlantic front will break through the northwest and cause a sudden change of timewith rain, snow and a general and sharp drop in temperatures that will return the full winter atmosphere to many areas during the weekend.
This Friday will begin with a situation still stable in much of the country. Lightly cloudy or clear skies will predominate, although with some intervals of low cloudiness in areas such as Galicia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the upper Ebro and the Cantabrian Sea. However, throughout the day the advance of an Atlantic front will cause a progressive increase in cloudiness from west to east.
The precipitation They will appear first in the northwest quadrant of the Peninsula and will extend to the Cantabrian Sea and the Pyrenees. The most notable accumulated are expected in Asturias and Cantabria. Furthermore, at the end of the day the first snowfalls in the Cantabrian mountain range and the Pyreneeswith a snow level that will drop from around 1,700-2,000 meters until reaching between 900 and 1,200 meters.
Warnings for maritime storms and snow in several communities
Five autonomous communities are today in maritime storm alertwith Galicia in orange level due to significant riskand another four at the yellow level (low danger), of which Asturias is also on notice for snow and the Canary Islands for wind.
In Galicia the orange alert is due to waves of 5 to 6 meters in the northwest and west of To Coruña, while on the rest of its coast the warning is yellow. This level of risk is also maintained by Asturian, Cantabrian and Basque coastlinewhere they will be registered waves of 4 to 5 meters.
In Canary Islandsin addition to maritime storms, there will be rwind speeds of 70-80 kilometers per hourespecially intense in La Gomera and La Palma. In Asturias, the southwestern area, the mountain range and Picos de Europa, are on alert due to snow accumulations of more than 15 centimeters in 24 hours from 1,100 meters.
Up to 30 centimeters of snow on Saturday
Saturday will be the most adverse day of this episode. According to Meteored, the front will continue to advance and will take new rainfall to Catalonia, Aragon, Iberian System, Valencian Community, Region of Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha and eastern Andalusia.
After the passage of the front, the cold air inlet together with northwest winds will favor new rains and snowfall in large areas of the northern peninsula. Instability will be especially persistent in the Cantabrian mountain range and the Pyrenees, where snowfall could be important.
According to the forecasts of the meteorological portal, The snow level could be between 600 and 900 meters in these areas and until Saturday night About 25 centimeters of new snow could accumulate on the summits of both mountain systems, with points where they could even be reached between 30 and 35 centimeters.
Meteored’s forecasts indicate that snowfall will also be reactivated in the area around Sanabria, inland Galicia, the Tramuntana mountain range of Mallorca, the Central System and in the Iberian region, with a level that will be around 900-1200 meters. In the main peaks of these mountain ranges the thicknesses could occasionally reach between 10 and 20 centimeters. In the Béticas and Sierra Nevada, precipitation will arrive more irregularly, with snow starting at about 1,600 meters.
Between Saturday and Sunday, a cold low near the Balearic Islandswhich will drive a northerly flow. Although an anticyclone will begin to approach from the weststill on Sunday some snowfall will remain in the Iberian System, the Pyrenees and the eastern Cantabrian Sea, although they will be weaker and more irregular than those on Saturday, Meteored points out. The snow level will tend to rise slightly until it is close to 1,000 meters in the extreme north.