MADRID – Not everyone realises that it can also be quite cold in Spain during winter. Of course, a lot depends on where you are, but even on the Mediterranean coasts, the cold forces Spaniards to move closer to their stoves or fireplaces.
Not to mention places inland on the Spanish plateau. The current cold wave that is sweeping Spain is the coldest in thirty years. This one is especially intense in the northern half of the country. In this regard, a municipality in the northern province of Soria reached the lowest temperature in all of Spain. In San Pedro Manrique (between the cities of Soria and Logroño) it became 14.1 degrees below zero. However, it should be noted that this place is located at an altitude of 1,096 metres. That temperature was measured on Saturday at 6.10 am.
The Astún ski station in Huesca comes second with 11.5 degrees below zero, followed by the Sierra Nevada in Granada with 11.4 degrees below zero.
Also read: Top ten ski resorts in Spain
Latest temperatures in Soria province
Also in the province of Soria are the other lowest temperatures measured on Saturday. For example, it hit 9.6 degrees below zero in La Póveda de Soria, Puerto del Pico in Avila (-9.3 degrees), the La Covatilla ski resort in Salamanca (-8.7) and the Burgos municipality of Monterrubio de la Demanda (-8.2).
However, according to Telecinco, the worst of this cold snap is yet to come. From Monday, a cold mass will enter Spain and will drop the mercury to -15ºC in some places. The temperature may not even rise above zero during the day in some areas.
Cold worsens from Monday
Ruben del Campo, spokesman for Aemet warns that the cold will worsen on Monday. “Between the anticyclone in the British Isles and the storm in the Mediterranean, a corridor of winds from Northern Europe will be generated these days. These are very cold and will lead to a further drop in temperatures in Spain”. Even during the day, the mercury will barely reach values above 8 or 10ºC.
In the north of the Community of Madrid, in Guadalajara, Ávila, La Rioja or inland Asturias, it could be -12 ºC at night; in much of Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia it will be -8; around -1 ºC in Extremadura and the Valencian Community.
Best temperatures in the Canary Islands
During the day, the temperature in the mountain areas of the peninsula’s northern half and the centre will not rise above zero degrees; it gets stuck at about 5 ºC in Madrid and Cuenca; less than 3 ºC in Valladolid or Cantabria. The maximum will be warmer in western Andalucia, where it will rise to 17ºC, and in the Canary Islands, where it will exceed 20ºC.
Officially no cold snap
In a technical sense, we cannot (yet) speak of a cold snap, because the necessary thresholds of intensity and duration of the cold episode are not exceeded. Del Campo predicts that the cold will continue until the middle of next week with hardly any precipitation. “From Thursday or Friday, temperatures in most of Spain will recover to more normal values. However, widespread frosts are expected in the Balearic Islands and almost all of the interior of the peninsula. It will remain intense on the northern plateau and in the mountains,” said Aemet’s Del Campo.
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