Spain will experience an episode of mid-winter this week due to the arrival of a arctic air mass that will cause a marked drop in temperatures, snowfall at low levels and widespread frost.
This episode will be especially noted between Wednesday and Saturdaywith an intense and generalized thermal decrease. According to Meteored, “Friday will probably be the coldest daywith the isotherm of -4 °C at 1500 meters reaching the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian slope, very notable values for mid-November.”
Frost will affect a good part of the interior of the peninsula, while daytime temperatures will remain below 10 degrees in large areas. Rubén de Campo, spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), explains that these will be winter temperatures, “between 5 and 10 degrees below normal”.
Cities such as Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Teruel or Salamanca will register below zero minimumswhile in other capitals of the interior, such asor Burgos or León, the atmosphere will be very cold even during the day.
In the Balearic Islands, between Thursday and Friday, locally heavy downpours are expected due to the formation of a storm in the Mediterranean, which will also generate a north wind storm. Meteored points out that “the presence of very cold air at altitude will also favor the development of showers in the Central System, the northern subplateau, the Iberian System and areas of the eastern peninsula.”
Where is it going to snow
Starting on Wednesday, the snow level will drop to around 800 meters in the northern third, and on Thursday and Friday even to 500 meters, with copious snowfall in the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and the Iberian System, and the possibility of snow in lower areas such as Segovia, Ávila or Burgos.
The European model provides accumulations of more than 50 cm of snow in high areas exposed to the northern winds of the Cantabrian Mountains, more than 20 cm in the Pyrenean divide and more than 10 cm in the northern Iberianand. Meteored points out that “Snowfall will be more discreet in the rest, although cities like Segovia, Ávila or Burgos could see snow”.
Frosts will be very intense in mountain areas, with values that could drop to -10 or -12 °C, and several capitals will register minimum temperatures of 0 °C or lower. “In Soria, Burgos or Teruel it could be around -4 or -5 °C. Even in the Mediterranean the cold will be noticeable, with night temperatures below 10 °C“, notes Meteored.
The AEMET predicts that the weekend will continue to be cold, especially on Saturday, with more intense frosts in some areas than on Friday. Starting on Sunday, the arrival of warmer air will allow temperatures to recover, returning to normal values for the season.