Temperatures are dropping today: the winter cold is already knocking on the door ahead of schedule.

We are on the verge of a very cold Arctic air mass that will define the weather for the entire week. Temperatures already dropped slightly yesterday, Monday, but still exceeded 20°C in some coastal and pre-coastal areas. Today we woke up to colder weather, and the drop will become more noticeable with each passing day. The mercury will plummet, especially from Wednesday and Thursday onwards, when the worst of this weather system will arrive. We will experience temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees below average, a dramatic change from the unseasonably warm weather we have enjoyed in recent days. There will be frost at night in many inland areas, and strong northerly winds will blow in the extremities. On Thursday, a front will cross the region, bringing snow to the northern slopes of the Pyrenees and showers to other areas, with the snow level dropping below 800 meters.

Tuesday: Lower temperatures

Temperatures will drop further this Tuesday, both minimums and maximums. We'll wake up to colder weather and frost in the Pyrenees and some areas of the Pre-Pyrenees. There have been many minimum temperatures of 3 to 6 °C inland and 5 to 10 °C along much of the coast and pre-coastal areas, higher in urban areas and affected by the wind. It's clear that cold air has begun to move in aloft, as the Pyrenean peaks are well below freezing, with a low of -7 °C recorded in Bonaigua (Pallars Sobirà). As for the maximum temperatures, the drop will be more pronounced, with most ranging between 11 and 16 °C. The weather will feel much more like late autumn or early winter.

Regarding the sky, sunshine and calm conditions will generally prevail. There will only be some cloud cover along the central coast and nearby areas, although we can't rule out a few drops of rain by the sea late in the day. But generally, it won't rain anywhere in Catalonia, while the Balearic Islands and Cap de la Nau will see showers, with some thunderstorms in Mallorca. There will also be morning fog in the northern interior. The Tramontana and Mistral winds will blow strongly in the Empordà and the south, respectively, especially in the early morning, when strong or very strong gusts are expected, particularly around Cap de Creus and the Albera mountain range.

Cold in the middle of winter and snow coming down from the top

The Arctic air mass will be particularly noticeable from Wednesday and Thursday onwards, when temperatures will drop even more sharply. We can expect very cold, midwinter days, with many highs between 5 and 10 °C, but lower in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and only slightly higher in coastal areas. This weather pattern will persist through the weekend. In fact, much of Europe will be experiencing harsh winter conditions, with temperatures well below those typically seen in mid- to late November and snow at lower elevations.

The snow level will drop significantly in Catalonia as well. The first snow showers will fall on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees on Wednesday afternoon, with the snow level plummeting to 1,000 meters. On Thursday, the snow level will continue to fall from 900 to 500 meters overall, and precipitation will arrive in the Pyrenees, primarily on the northern slopes, where the snowfall will be most substantial in the coming days. A weather front will also bring afternoon showers to areas around Barcelona, ​​Girona, and other parts of northern Catalonia, as well as the Els Ports region, where the snow level will also drop sharply, similar to the Pyrenees. Therefore, snowfall is expected in mountains such as Montseny, the Transversal Range, and Els Ports, with strong winds at the extremes.

The snow level will drop even further in the following days, but between Friday and the weekend, it appears there will be no more precipitation outside the Pyrenees, with sunshine and a distinctly cold, but dry, temperature. A truly wintry situation that we should monitor closely.