The snowfall is weakening, but the cold will intensify.

The long-awaited mass of Arctic air has arrived, bringing its harsh winter cold to Catalonia at the start of the week. The combination of this very cold air mass with the Atlantic storm Francis This weather system will bring snowfall on Monday, with snow falling at very low elevations in several regions, especially during the morning. The snow level will occasionally drop to 0-100 meters, prompting several warnings from Meteocat and the Neucat plan, which are now on alert. During the early morning hours, snow fell at low elevations in the Lleida region and inland areas of Tarragona and Barcelona, ​​and even along the coast (you can see some images of the snowfall at the end of this report).

Monday: Snowfall inland

During the early hours, we already had snowfall in regions like Bages, Segarra, and Segrià, and by morning the precipitation was affecting many more areas, especially in Barcelona, ​​Lleida, northern Tarragona, and the Valencian Community. The snow level is fluctuating between 100 and 300 meters, although locally it could snow below that if the precipitation is heavy and the snow level drops significantly. Everything will depend on the final impact of the storm. Francis and its interaction with the very cold Arctic air mass, but everything suggests that the storm's final position will result in generally light precipitation, with widespread whiteouts but no significant snowfall. What we are sure of is the cold, as it will be very intense and typical of winter. We'll need to bundle up to go out and welcome Their Majesties on Monday afternoon. Temperatures will be clearly below average and will continue on Three Kings' Day, with calmer and sunnier weather. At high altitudes in the Pyrenees, temperatures will reach -15°C, with extreme wind chills of less than -20°C, and on the coast, temperatures will barely reach 7 or 8°C at midday.

The accumulated snow depth will not be particularly significant, but between 1 and 5 centimeters of snow could fall across a large area of Central Catalonia, parts of the Barcelona and Tarragona pre-coastal regions, and also in the Pre-Pyrenees and the Central Depression. In this regard, Meteocat has issued a snow accumulation warning for all the districts of Terres de l'Ebre, Ponent, Camp de Tarragona, and the interior of Barcelona. In these districts, more than 2 centimeters of snow could accumulate above 400 meters, with a lower snow level in the west of the region.

Tuesday: intense cold

After a snowy Monday, the Three Kings will arrive with intense cold, the likes of which haven't been seen for years at this time of year. Frost will gradually approach the coast and could even reach the shoreline in regions like Baix Empordà and northern Maresme. Maximum temperatures will also be significantly lower, reaching 10°C or slightly lower along the coast, and between 3°C and 7°C in much of the interior. We should keep an eye out for possible showers along the central coast and pre-coastal areas, and snow at very low elevations, although overall the weather will be calm.

Snowfall report

Snow began falling in parts of the Lleida region and the Segarra plateau on Sunday night, but it spread more widely in the early hours of this morning. The snow level has plummeted, and snow is falling at any elevation in the western and southern parts of the country, and above 100-200 meters in the central region. From 5-6 a.m. onwards, snow began accumulating in the Lleida region, thanks to persistent precipitation and a drop in temperature, and also in parts of central Catalonia. In some areas, the snowpack has already reached over 10 centimeters, in places like Igualada and Santa Coloma de Queralt.