WEATHER – Although meteorological spring has begun, weather forecasts predict not only a drop in temperatures in Spain but also precipitation in various parts of the country. Sometimes even with a touch of winter.
On Thursday, the situation changes gradually with the arrival of isolated polar air, which is likely to give rise to a DANA (isolated high-level depression),’ explains Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Temperatures will drop and snow may fall. This will be especially in the north of Spain and in the Mediterranean area. However, it could also be in the mountain areas and possibly in high plains and moors. According to Del Campo, this meteorological situation ‘will help to alleviate the effects of the recent lack of precipitation’.
Day-to-day forecast
From Wednesday, there will be a front over the north of the peninsula that is not yet very active. In the afternoon, ‘a new front is approaching. This will be more active and will herald a change in the weather’, del Campo explained. This front will move from the northwest to the southeast of the peninsula on Thursday. Furthermore, it will bring rain to areas of the northern half of the peninsula and to a lesser extent in the south and east. It cannot be ruled out that the rain will also reach the Balearic Islands. After this front, a mass of cold air will enter the country. This will cause temperatures to drop significantly in much of the peninsula and especially in the northwest’.
Friday wet, cold and wintry
On Friday, it looks like a DANA will form, combined with scent winds, in the western Mediterranean. This could lead to rain in the Cantabrian Sea. Locally heavy showers may also occur in the regions around the Mediterranean and the east and south of Aragon.
Precipitation is likely to spread over much of the eastern third of Spain and snow could return to mountainous areas in the north and east of the peninsula. Temperatures will be particularly low in these areas. And overall it will be a cold, wintry day with temperatures between five and ten degrees below normal for the season. In addition, it will be freezing in the early morning in the northern half of the country. And, furthermore, during the day the temperature will remain below 15 degrees in large parts of the interior.
Weekend more stable
As for the weekend, Del Campo assures that both the DANA and gusts will move eastwards so that stable weather will prevail over the weekend.”
Where will the most rain fall?
According to weather service eltiempo.es, the precipitation associated with this situation is expected in all regions of the map except the Canary Islands. However, a small amount of precipitation may also fall in the north of the islands with the highest altitude at the end of the week.
Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country are the regions where more than 50 litres per square metre may fall during the course of this week. High precipitation is also expected in the Central System (Castilian foothills). Also, in the interior of eastern Spain, with rainfall amounts of 30-40 millimetres. However, this weather situation is quite uncertain. And, consequently, it is difficult to predict what the weather will actually do.
Lower temperatures
From Wednesday onwards, the temperatures will start to drop in the north of the country. On the Mediterranean coast, however, it could be a warm day with a westerly wind: in Valencia and Malaga temperatures could reach 23-25ºC. Thursday, temperatures will begin to fall across most of the country, with possible drops in Madrid and Zamora, accompanied by rain. Temperatures will fall on Friday in the south and east of the country, in some cases by as much as 10ºC compared to the first half of the week. Maximum temperatures could be around 10ºC or even lower from Friday in cities such as Madrid, Valladolid, and Cuenca.
Snow
The drop in temperatures coinciding with the arrival of precipitation will again bring snowfall. The Cantabrian mountain range, the Pyrenees, and the Iberian and Central systems will once again be covered in snow, but snow may also fall outside the mountain areas because the snow level may drop below 1,000 metres, according to El tiempo.
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