Wind alert: gusts have already exceeded 165 km/h

BarcelonaThe 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.

The message reached all mobile phones in Solsonès, Berguedà, Ripollès, Alt Empordà, and northern Cerdanya, explained the deputy director of Civil Protection, Imma Solé. The forecast is that the gusts will be widespread, but in these regions they will be most intense. Solé added that, apart from the wind, a period of strong waves is expected, especially on the north coast, and snow, mainly in the western Pyrenees area.

The cause of this strong wind is found in the powerful cold northerly wind corridor towards our home, which has been generated between a strong anticyclone in the Atlantic and a low-pressure area in the western Mediterranean. The atmosphere will be colder and more wintry on Sunday. Next week will still begin with wind and remnants of instability in the north of the country, but it seems we will face the key days of Holy Week with more calm and good weather.

Sunday: windy weather

This Palm Sunday a strong wind storm will occur in many regions, although the most affected areas will be the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees –also in the valleys–, the regions of Girona, Camp de Tarragona, the Ebro and Castellón. In these areas, speeds of 100 or 120 km/h can easily be exceeded, with some local hurricane-force gusts of more than 130 or 140 km/h. The Meteorological Service of Catalonia has various alerts activated for strong winds throughout the day, which cover all regions of the country. In red level are Solsonès, Berguedà, Ripollès, Garrotxa, and Alt Empordà. In orange level we find the rest of the regions of Girona, the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida, Segrià, Noguera, and some regions of Camp de Tarragona.

Little or much, the wind will be felt everywhere, although it will blow more weakly on the coast and the central pre-coast. Also pay attention to the Balearic Islands, where the wind and rough sea storm will be very harsh, and where some showers will occur during the morning, with snow in the Serra de Tramuntana. Very altered maritime situation on the Costa Brava, also on alert for sea conditions, and very adverse conditions in the high areas of the Pyrenees, with very strong winds, icy atmosphere, snow and blizzard, a phenomenon that greatly reduces visibility and can cause accidents in the midst of extreme weather. Much caution: all activities planned in high mountains will have to be postponed because in many cases the thermal sensation will drop to minus 10 or 15 degrees.

Snowfall will remain on the north face of the Pyrenees, and will intermittently jump to the south face. The snow line will be very low, and it may snow at practically all altitudes. The Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya warns of accumulations of more than 10 cm from 900 m on the north face, and 30 to 40 cm at high altitudes. Variable skies in the northeast, and more sun in the rest. Clear drop in temperatures, with a more wintry atmosphere and values below average everywhere.

Monday: more calm

The week will begin with much more pleasant and stable weather, although the wind will blow with strong gusts in Empordà, the Ebro and at high altitudes in the Pyrenees. It will be in the Pyrenees where there will be precipitation again, in this case with a snowline that will rise from the initial 700-900 meters to 1,500-1,700 meters. This rise in the snowline will be associated with a generalized increase in temperature, which will leave a milder atmosphere at noon on a day marked by intervals of high and medium clouds. Even so, Monday morning will be a little colder than Sunday morning and morning frosts will reach more regions outside the Pyrenees.

A fairly stable Holy Week

As the days go by, the meteorological situation will gradually improve, leaving behind the weather change of this first Easter weekend. The maps indicate that by mid-week the situation will be calmer and it seems that we will reach the key days of Easter with much more usable weather, although between Monday and Wednesday there will still be some precipitation in the Pyrenean regions, especially on the northern slopes. The temperature will rise progressively and by mid and late week we will once again have some highs above 20 or 21°C.

Sales balance

The north component wind has intensified rapidly during the early hours, with gusts that have exceeded 100 km/h in many places. Notable are the 168.5 km/h in Portbou, in Alt Empordà, or the more than 150 km/h recorded in the sanctuary of Queralt, in Berguedà. Other notable records are the 133.9 km/h from the Darnius reservoir (Alt Empordà) or the 125.3 km/h at Tosa d'Alp 2,478 m (Cerdanya).