A peaceful and productive start to the week, with more pleasant middays

BarcelonaWe've just finished a very calm weekend, with the windstorm in many regions and the widespread and significant snowfall across the Pyrenees on Friday and Saturday finally over (you'll find a summary of the snowfall and windstorm data and images at the end of this report). This stable weather will continue into the start of the new week, with sunshine interspersed with some harmless cloud bands, no precipitation anywhere, and more pleasant afternoons. Around Wednesday, temperatures could even reach 20°C in the south of the country. It won't be until the second half of the week that new changes arrive, with increased instability and a further drop in temperatures.

Monday: a day to take advantage of

The week begins very calmly. Sunshine will dominate today, although it will be interspersed with some thin, high-altitude clouds that may occasionally obscure the sky. There will also be fog until mid-morning inland, as well as some lingering low cloud cover in parts of the Pyrenees. Minor variations in an otherwise calm weather pattern to enjoy.

Minimum temperatures have dropped slightly in some areas, and we woke up to cold and frost in several regions. However, they have clearly risen in the high mountains, with an increasingly pronounced temperature inversion, and maximum temperatures will also increase across the country. It will feel more pleasant at midday, with many highs between 11 and 16 °C, locally higher in the south. In the afternoon, a moderate southwesterly wind will be noticeable between the Costa Brava and the central coast.

Few changes until the second half of the week

On Tuesday, low cloud cover will increase along the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona and Tarragona, but with no rain expected and sunshine elsewhere. Temperatures will rise further and are expected to peak on Wednesday, potentially reaching or nearing 20°C in the south of the country. These are unusually mild for this time of year. A southwesterly wind will blow, with locally strong gusts, on Tuesday along the Costa Brava.

Late Wednesday, a weakening front will brush past us, potentially bringing some precipitation to the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida. It will be minimal, and the weather forecasts indicate that instability will increase between Friday and the weekend, with a risk of further showers. This situation is still somewhat unclear and will need to be clarified, but it would be accompanied by another drop in temperatures.

Summary of the snow and wind storm

The snowfall on Friday and especially Saturday reached the entire Pyrenees, including the southern slopes and even the valley floors, some of which experienced the most significant snowfall of the season so far. At higher elevations, the storm was accompanied by strong winds, blizzards, and freezing temperatures. Saturday's weather conditions were particularly adverse in the high mountains. The heaviest snowfall occurred during the early hours of Saturday morning, and snow chains were mandatory on several roads this weekend. Sunday was radically different, with much calmer conditions but a high risk of avalanches. These are some of the most significant snow accumulations:

• 56 cm: Certascan (2,400 m)
• 50 cm: Malniu (2,200 m)
• 45 cm: Lac Redon (2.247 m)
• 42 cm: Bonabé
• 39 cm: Nuria
• 36 cm: Bonaigua (2,266 m)
• 35 cm: Sasseuva (2,228 m)
• 35 cm: Tavascan
• 30 cm: It's Edges
• 29 cm: Bagergue
• 28 cm: Esterri d'Àneu
• 24 cm: Rice
• 23 cm: Old
• 18 cm: Puigcerdà
• 18 cm: Ulldeter (2,400 m)
• 15 cm: Rain

Regarding the wind, the storm weakened and decreased in extent throughout Saturday, but it still persisted in the south, in the Ponent region, in the Empordà, in higher elevations, and on the peaks of the Pyrenees. The strong winds on Friday and Saturday brought many gusts of between 60 and 90 km/h in many areas, but at higher elevations, gusts exceeded 100 km/h. These are the strongest gusts recorded between Friday and Saturday:

• 159 km/h: Portbou
• 136 km/h: Puig Sesolles (1,668 m)
• 100 km/h: Montsec d'Ares
• 96 km/h: El Perelló
• 95 km/h: Ulldemolins
• 93 km/h: Alguaire
• 88 km/h: Montserrat
• 87 km/h: Espot (2,519 m)
• 87 km/h: Núria (1,971 m)
• 82 km/h: Ulldeter (2,413 m)