Temperatures are already rising on Thursday and so is the snow line, which is retreating to the mountains and the highest areas. An anticyclone will dominate on Saturday, bringing the sun back to most of the country.
However, the cold return to Spain from Sunday, with minimum temperatures between five and ten degrees below normal. Thursday morning was the coldest of the winter so far, according to Rosalía Fernández, a meteorologist at Mediaset. The day also started with snowfall at low levels. “But this level will rise during the day to 1,500 metres in the Cantabrian Mountains and between 500 and 700 in the rest of the north of the peninsula,” the expert confirms.
“In addition to the mountains in the far north, it will also snow in the central and Iberian system on Thursday. In the rest of the country it will be more often variable to partly cloudy,” adds Ruben del Campo from Aemet.
Decrease in violent coastal phenomena in the north
The violent coastal phenomena on the Galician and Cantabrian coasts are also decreasing somewhat. That means no more 8 metre waves as on Wednesday. Instead, up to 4 or 5 metres are expected, which is normal in these areas. However, it will remain generally windy on Thursday.
Temperatures are rising
On Thursday, temperatures in the northwest of the peninsula will rise between three and six degrees compared to Wednesday. However, the minimum temperatures in large parts of the peninsula and the Pyrenees can easily reach 10 degrees below zero.
Temperatures and especially night temperatures will gradually increase on Friday. That could mean an increase of up to eight degrees in the temperature compared to Thursday. The frost will then be limited to mountainous areas, according to Del Campo. In the far north, it continues to rain heavily and the snow line is around 1,400 metres.
In the provinces of León, Palencia, Navarra and Burgos there are warnings of thaws that could cause flooding, Mediaset’s Fernándes warns.
The intense cold returns to Spain on Sunday
On Saturday the sun will shine in most of the country and with rising temperatures. However, it could be intensely cold during the early morning hours. Frost will be widespread in the interior of Spain over the weekend and probably also during the first days of next week.
“From Sunday, the mercury will drop mainly in large parts of the interior, especially on the two plateaus, four or five degrees below zero and in the mountain areas to eight degrees below zero,” predicts Ruben, who was named meteorologist of the year. “There could be lows of -5ºC in cold cities like Teruel and Soria and around -4ºC in Pamplona and Burgos. Frost is also expected in Madrid, Granada, Salamanca, etc.”
Also cold on the coasts
Even on the coasts, it is cold with temperatures around 2-3ºC in cities such as Alicante, Valencia or Mahón. The night cold may become even more intense at the beginning of next week in Spain, with frost guaranteed in almost the entire interior until Wednesday, January 25. So after this episode of wind, rain, cold and snow comes the real intense cold, del Campo concludes.
