The Azores High will continue to guarantee good weather in our area during this Easter week, with sunshine and mild temperatures that will usher us fully into spring, after a few days of strong winds and snow in the Pyrenees. With this weather, you can fully enjoy the snowfall that has occurred in the Pyrenees, where in some cases there is more than 2 or 2.5 meters of snow, a thickness significantly higher than usual at the beginning of April. Mid next week, however, new changes could arrive with more atmospheric instability.

"Tell whoever sent you that next time I will cut his throat." The "next time" the three hitmen lodged about fifty bullets into Catherine Isabelle Castagna and her husband, Jacques René Grangeon. The Lyon clan did not like Castagna's threat and they gunned down the couple in their luxurious villa in the Las Lomas de Marbella urbanization. 50 bullets for the 500 million pesetas that Castagna and Grangeon owed them for losing a hashish game. One bullet for every 10 million (60,000 euros). The Lyonnais clan had recently settled a few months ago on the Costa del Sol to control the route between Morocco and France and they were not messing around. It was the autumn of 1996.

After more than a week with a strong north wind corridor affecting our home, the weather situation will clearly improve just as the most important holidays of Easter begin. The mistral and tramontana still left gusts of more than 100 km/h this Thursday in the north of the country, with a hurricane-force gust of 190 km/h recorded in Portbou (Alt Empordà). This Good Friday the wind will continue to blow at the extremes, but it will clearly decrease and will no longer be news. A wind that will finally calm down completely over the weekend. The Azores anticyclone will finally embrace us and absolute calm and radiant sun will prevail everywhere, with no more squalls or precipitation. Temperatures will clearly rise, with increasingly warm midday. All this after the past few days have once again exceeded 100 km/h in the peaks of the Pyrenees and in Empordà, while the last general snowfall in the Pyrenees has left more than half a meter of new snow at the high altitudes of Alt Pirineu and the north face. Freshly fallen snow that will allow for maximum enjoyment of skiing these days.

The weather has remained unsettled in recent hours in various regions. Snowfall has been widespread in the Pyrenees, mainly above 1,200 or 1,400 m, especially on the north face, but it has also affected the south face. In some parts of Alt Pirineu or northern Andorra, more than half a meter of new snow has already accumulated. The mistral and tramontana winds have continued to blow strongly at the extremes, where speeds have once again exceeded 100 km/h. Notably, 147 km/h was reached yesterday in Portbou, in Alt Empordà, the area most affected by this northerly wind storm that began over a week ago. Between yesterday afternoon and early this morning, some showers also fell in parts of Girona, northeastern Barcelona, and the Balearic Islands, leaving more than 10 l/m² in Alt Empordà. This rain will not repeat today, while snowfall will continue, although restricted to the north face. Strong northerly winds are still present at the extremes, but they will clearly decrease from Friday onwards. Looking ahead to the important days of Holy Week, sun and calm will prevail in all regions, with increasingly warm midday temperatures.

The north component wind gives no respite and we have already strung together eight consecutive days of intense gusts, concentrated mainly at the ends of the country. In the last few hours, the 100 km/h mark has again been exceeded, highlighting on Tuesday the 151 km/h in Portbou and 130 km/h at the Darnius-Boadella reservoir (Alt Empordà), 133 km/h at Tosa d’Alp (altitude 2,478 m, Cerdanya), 125 km/h at Boí (altitude 2,537 m, Alta Ribagorça), 115 km/h at Port del Comte (altitude 2,288 m, Solsonès), 102 km/h at Santuari de Queralt (Berguedà) and 101 km/h at Mas de Barberans (Montsià). All this has once again caused incidents in these areas, especially on the Costa Brava.

In general, the wind has lost a lot of strength this Monday, but the tramontana has continued to blow very strongly on the peaks of the Pyrenees and in the Alt Empordà, where 100 km/h has been widely exceeded again locally. Highlights include the 158 km/h reached in Portbou and the 99 in the Darnius-Boadella reservoir (Alt Empordà), the 138 in Boí (altitude 2,537 m, Alta Ribagorça), the 105 in Tosa d'Alp (altitude 2,478 m, Cerdanya) and the 90 in Molló (Ripollès). All this after the storm on Sunday left 168 km/h in Portbou as the most extreme gust recorded in the entire country. In the coming days, the wind will remain, and will even intensify at the extremes. On Tuesday it will snow again on the northern face of the Pyrenees, and on Wednesday a new front will cross us, reactivating the snowfall in a large part of the Pyrenees, with temperatures under control. But the maps indicate that the key days of Easter will be marked by general calm and a clearer rise in thermometers.

We leave behind a weekend with two very different faces: a Saturday quite calm and a Sunday marked by intense wind, snow in the Pyrenees and a cooler or colder atmosphere. Wind gusts have exceeded 100 km/h in several regions in recent hours, which has caused quite a few incidents, which has caused quite a few incidents (you will find the most outstanding data of the gale at the end of this article). This week will be more stable and the temperature will gradually rise, although this morning we woke up with a cold winter atmosphere and frost in many places. There will still be some snowfall in the Pyrenees until the middle of the week, with a higher snow line, and wind in the usual places in the country. It seems that the key days of Holy Week, however, will be dominated by calm and good weather.

The start of the weekend was quite calm, but the weather has become complicated as the hours have passed. The passage of a new cold front has caused a new snowfall to begin in the Pyrenees at very low altitudes. Furthermore, it has opened the door to a northerly wind that will continue to strengthen, and which throughout this Sunday will cause a storm of strong gusts in many regions, also outside of usual places. The most affected areas will be the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, regions of Girona, the Ebro, the south of Camp de Tarragona, Castellón, and the Balearic Islands. The gusts will widely exceed 100 or 120 km/h in the most affected areas, and conditions will be especially adverse in the Pyrenees, where the atmosphere will be freezing and the phenomenon of whirlwinds will occur. These are days of high mobility, so maximum caution is advised, especially in mountainous areas and in the northeast. Civil Protection has already activated the alert for the Ventcat plan and the pre-alert for the Neucat plan for this episode,, andthis Saturday afternoon sent an Es-Alert message to the regions at highest risk asking to avoid unnecessary travel and outdoor activities during Sunday.

In the nineties, Jordi Pujol was asked in an interview about the validity of Torras i Bages' quote (“Catalonia will be Christian or it will not be”). “What can be affirmed is that Catalonia will be Catalan or it will not be – he replied–. It will be something else, but it will not be Catalonia”. Three decades later, we must ask ourselves if the terms Catalonia and Catalan have the same meaning, and if we are on our way to being that “something else”.What characterizes a national community? There are basic conditions – a population with group consciousness, and a more or less stable territory – that Catalonia has met for more or less a millennium. But its territory has stretched and shrunk, and its population has undergone continuous mutations due to migratory flows (from Occitania, from the Peninsula, from the rest of the world). If the country has survived, until the 18th century, it is thanks to the integrating factor of its own language and government institutions. And in recent centuries, quite the contrary, it has been the absence of political structures that has given a new spirit to Catalan identity, a profoundly apolitical and even antipolitical spirit – which is expressed in a community and entrepreneurial spirit, but also in cyclical revolts and the inability to understand the modern sense of the exercise of power. In these thousand years, there has been a dynamic, changing, porous Catalan people, rooted enough to absorb new contingents of population; but from the 20th century onwards, demographic weakness, combined with high economic development and the lack of a protective political framework, has caused this precarious balance to break, Catalan to lose its hegemony, and identities to separate or overlap. At the turn of the 21st century, new waves from all corners of the world have complicated this trend, which, if it is already a trial by fire for any national community, is even more so for a small nation, which not only does not have its own state, but is in constant conflict with a state of homogenizing tendencies. Catalonia has overcome crises, revolts, wars and, since 1714, a denationalizing offensive on all fronts. If this is the case, why shouldn't it survive the current circumstances? Well, because they are unprecedented circumstances. Until now, we said that the Catalan people have survived oppression without governing tools, but what is now in question is, on the contrary, whether these same tools can survive without a Catalan people behind them, as we have understood it in recent centuries. Catalan people has survived oppression without governing tools, but what is now in question is, on the contrary, whether these same tools can survive without a Catalan people behind them, as we have understood it in recent centuries. Demographics are cold and relentless, and no matter how many political tools we have, people are people, with their extraordinarily diverse origins. Faced with this reality, we will only be able to continue affirming, with Pujol, that “Catalonia will be Catalan or it will not be” if we are capable of refounding our collective being, preserving our roots, incorporating new blood, and providing ourselves with values and a project that strengthens and incorporates. But this is such a huge, so titanic, undertaking that we cannot do it with one hand tied behind our backs: we need a state that gives us a frame of reference, resources, and authority to manage inevitable social and demographic changes at the right pace. The first step to get there is the strategic unity of all democrats who consider that Catalonia must continue to exist as a nation. Without sectarianism and without reproaches. Otherwise, our shipwreck in the face of the globalizing wave is guaranteed. It is no longer a question of being a better country, as we said ten years ago. It is a question of being:Catalonia will be sovereign... or perhaps it will not be. It will, in effect, be something else.

The change in weather over the last few hours has caused a clear drop in temperatures, strong gusts of wind in the extremities of the country and a bit of snow on the northern face of the Pyrenees, with blizzards at high altitudes. Speeds exceeding 100 km/h have been recorded in the Ebro region, the Pyrenean peaks, and Empordà (you will find the most significant data on the wind gusts at the end of this information). And in the coming days, thermometers will be kept in check and the north wind will persist, as the anticyclone located in the Atlantic will keep the corridor of cold wind coming from Central Europe towards our home open.

After temperatures peaked yesterday, with a very mild midday that saw highs above 20°C in several regions, the weather will change dramatically today. The passage of a cold front has brought in cold air, and temperatures have already dropped significantly in the last few hours. It's time to bundle up considerably this morning, and the drop in highs will be noticeable and severe at midday as well. Furthermore, strong winds are expected throughout Thursday in the country's extremes. During the early hours, gusts exceeded 100 km/h in some areas, with notable figures such as 142 km/h in Portbou, 119 km/h at the Darnius-Boadella reservoir (Alt Empordà), 120 km/h in El Perelló (Baix Ebre), and 115 km/h at Tosa d'Alp. Pay attention to the higher elevations of the Pyrenees, as blizzards and freezing temperatures are expected. It will snow lightly on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, starting at just 600 or 800 meters. Elsewhere it will be sunny, although there were a few isolated showers last night along the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona, ​​which didn't even accumulate a liter per square meter. Temperatures will remain mild and below average for the rest of the week. Therefore, spring will take a step back and winter will bare its claws for the last time, just as we find ourselves on the cusp of Easter.

Calm and sunshine have prevailed in recent hours. Yesterday at midday, the weather was already more pleasant, with temperatures reaching up to 22°C in the interior of the Ebro Valley. And today, Wednesday, the thermometers will even reach their peak, with very mild temperatures and highs around or above 20°C in several areas. But in the afternoon, a cold front will begin to arrive, reactivating the strong mistral and tramontana winds in the west, south, and Empordà region, with showers on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees. On Thursday, the wind will be strong in the extremes, and temperatures and the snow level will plummet, but outside the Pyrenees, practically no precipitation is expected. Friday and Saturday should bring a respite, but on Sunday, snow will return to the Pyrenees and the wind will pick up in many areas, bringing colder temperatures. This very changeable, typically spring-like weather is the result of an anticyclone moving between the Azores and the British Isles, which will push colder fronts and air masses towards us.

Nearly 70% of Catalan municipalities are now considered high or very high risk areas for flooding and are therefore required to have a flood preparedness and action plan in case of heavy rain. This is according to the updated Inuncat plan, approved by the Catalan government on Tuesday, which raises the number of municipalities at risk to 656 (164 more than before). The remaining 231 municipalities are considered moderate or low risk; however, Civil Protection recommends that they also have their action plans ready. After 20 years in effect, the Inuncat plan has been updated to adapt to the effects of climate change. The new document—work on since the pandemic—includes a thorough review of the calculation criteria and the way warnings are communicated to the public. According to government and Civil Protection sources, the new criteria are already in place "internally," but they clarify that the official change and the implementation of the new system throughout the territory will take place "during the month of April," once all computer systems have been adapted.

The downpours that fell between Sunday afternoon and yesterday are now history, after leaving locally nearly 15 liters per square meter in some areas of northern Girona and the Pyrenees. Both today and tomorrow will bring back radiant sunshine and absolute calm, with a clear rise in temperatures that will make midday considerably milder, especially on Wednesday. However, the passage of a cold front late Wednesday will open the door to an indirect influx of cold air of polar origin, which will lower temperatures from then on, particularly in the Pyrenees, where snow is expected below 1,000 meters. A slight retreat towards winter, typical of this time of year. As the saying goes, "March, March, kills the old woman by the fireside, and the young one if she can," referring to the rollercoaster of temperatures during this transitional month between winter and spring. Therefore, it seems that the second part of the week could be cooler, but beyond showers in some regions, no significant rainfall is expected.

The Catalan police (Mossos d'Esquadra) and the National Police launched an operation Monday morning against a drug trafficking ring based in Catalonia. Following an investigation coordinated by Europol, the police are seeking to dismantle a Turkish gang involved in trafficking marijuana and cocaine, but which also trafficked in weapons, according to sources consulted by ARA. The police have made 19 arrests, 14 of them in Catalonia. The investigation began a year ago, and the operation is now in full swing. Arrests have been made in Barcelona, ​​Teià, Sabadell, Tordera, and Lloret de Mar. In addition, two people have been arrested in Málaga, and six others are under investigation in Greece. Specifically, the accused are allegedly responsible for receiving the drugs in Catalonia—they did not produce them—and distributing them to other parts of Europe, where they fetch much higher prices. One of the police raids was at a bar in Poble Sec. In total, more than 200 officers are involved.

Over the past few hours, a pocket of cold air descending from northern Europe has swept across the region, bringing showers to areas of Girona, Barcelona, ​​the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, and some stretches of the southern coast. The change in weather was sudden in these areas on Sunday afternoon and evening, following a generally mild and sunny first weekend of spring. Snow also fell again in the mid and high elevations of the Pyrenees. Between yesterday and early this morning, accumulations of 10 to 15 liters per square meter were recorded in the northern parts of Girona, and 1 to 8 liters per square meter in many other areas, accompanied by some local thunderstorms. In contrast, not a drop fell in the western part of the country and much of the southern half. Today, World Meteorological Day, the weather won't clear completely, but very little rain is expected, and from tomorrow onwards, sunshine and calm conditions will generally return.

Sepp Kuss's (1994) life changed radically on September 1, 2019. He had arrived in Europe from the United States a couple of years earlier and was already making a name for himself in cycling. That day he rode his best race. It was the ninth stage of the Vuelta a España, and the finish line was in Els Cortals de Encamp, Andorra, where he lived. Waiting for him at the finish line was someone who would forever change his life: Noemí Ferré, the love of his life. She had gone to watch the stage finish with some friends, as she is also a cyclist and passionate about the sport. He, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth to reach the end. After the race, Noemí met Sepp because they had a mutual friend. That was the first and penultimate step, because after the Vuelta ended, the American wrote to her to arrange a meeting. Since then, they've been inseparable, and Kuss has become a true Catalan, even swapping his native Colorado for the Pyrenees forests, where he hopes to rack up successes in the Volta a Catalunya, which is about to begin.

The first weekend of spring has been radiant and windy. Temperatures have remained relatively mild, generally ranging between 17°C and 20°C this Saturday. This morning, we again experienced a marked temperature contrast between the cold and frosty mornings and the more pronounced mildness at midday. In fact, some weather stations in the Pyrenees recorded a temperature swing of almost 20°C between day and night (in Pont de Suert, with a high of 17°C and a low of -3°C).

The fifth chamber of the Administrative Litigation of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has issued a precautionary measure that obliges the Parliament of Catalonia to display the flag of Spain outside the building in an "immediate and permanent" manner. The decision comes in light of the fact that, until now, the state flag and the Catalan flag only flew together on the facade on plenary days, as acknowledged by the report of the chamber's own legal counsel.

The Fifth Chamber of the Administrative Court of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has issued an injunction requiring the Parliament of Catalonia to display the Spanish flag on the exterior of its building "immediately and permanently." The decision comes in response to the fact that, until now, the Spanish and Catalan flags were only flown together on the façade on days when plenary sessions were held, as acknowledged in the report prepared by the Parliament's own legal counsel.