Calmer weather today, but the weekend will begin with a new front

BarcelonaFriday begins with a noticeably colder atmosphere everywhere, with frost in the higher elevations of the Pyrenees. Early in the morning, there are still some weak and scattered showers in the Girona region, but these will quickly dissipate. In fact, today will be much calmer and more enjoyable than yesterday, with no rain and mostly sunny skies. The wind will blow during the first part of the day in the southern half of the region and in the northern Empordà, but will gradually subside. However, from the afternoon onwards, a new front will arrive from the west, bringing rain to various locations until Saturday morning, although nothing like the heavy downpours of Thursday. A weekend with a bit of everything and a truly autumnal feel.

All of this comes after the active cold front that crossed us yesterday morning, bringing a deluge of rain across the region, with torrential downpours and strong winds. Locally, rainfall exceeded 50 liters per square meter, with most of it falling in a short period. Caldes de Montbui (Vallès Oriental) recorded over 80 liters. This intensity caused flooding and numerous disruptions during the peak hours of school and work arrivals. The first significant and widespread snowfall of the season also occurred in the higher elevations of the Pyrenees (you will find the most important data and images of this storm at the end of this report).

Friday: day of impasse

This Friday we woke up to colder weather overall. We should dress warmer when leaving home early in the morning, with sub-zero temperatures in the higher elevations of the Pyrenees. Temperatures will range from 4 to 9°C across much of the interior, and from 9 to 14°C in the pre-coastal and coastal areas. Sunshine and calm conditions will prevail, with morning fog in the plains and inland valleys. However, some cloud cover will remain in the northern third of the country, with a few showers possible early in the morning in the Girona region and on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, which could recur sporadically in the afternoon. Everything will move quickly, with moderate winds in the northern Alt Empordà and the southern half of the country.

However, more bands of clouds will arrive from the west during the afternoon, extending eastward as the day progresses. This is due to the approach of a new front, which will bring more showers, especially from tonight onwards, to the Lleida and Ebro regions, as well as the interior of the Valencian Community. These showers will initially be light and insignificant. Maximum temperatures will remain relatively unchanged, ranging between 16 and 21°C, with lower temperatures expected in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, other mountain areas, and the northern interior.

A weekend with two sides

The new front will bring more rain from west to east across Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and the Balearic Islands during Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday morning. While there is still some uncertainty, it appears that the rain will stop in the Valencian Country and southern and western Catalonia by morning, and will gradually clear from the rest of the region throughout the day, although cloud cover will remain. Rain will continue throughout the day on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, with the snow level around 2,000 meters. On Saturday, the mistral and tramontana winds will blow strongly in the Ebro Valley, southern Ponent and Camp de Tarragona, and along the Costa Brava, creating rough seas. Maximum temperatures will drop even further in most areas, with late autumn conditions and sub-zero temperatures in the high mountains.

On Sunday, however, the unsettled weather will clear, and sunshine and calm will prevail everywhere. This stability will continue into the start of next week. Sunday morning will be quite cold, while midday will be somewhat milder, with highs rising. The northerly wind will weaken.

Rainfall balance and rainfall

The rain front that swept across the country this Thursday morning brought torrential downpours and strong winds, sweeping from west to east. In some areas, the rainfall was very intense, exceeding 20 or 30 liters per square meter in just half an hour. Some of the areas that received the most rain include the pre-coastal region of Barcelona, ​​the northeast, the Priorat region, and the Ribera d'Ebre. While many areas recorded between 15 and 30 liters per square meter, some areas far surpassed these figures. Notable examples include the 86 liters per square meter accumulated in Castellcir (Moianès), the 82 in Caldes de Montbui (Vallès Oriental), and the 77 in Sabadell (Vallès Occidental). In some cases, more than 20 or 30 l/m² have fallen in just half an hour, as in Benissanet (Ribera d'Ebre), where of the 61 l/m² accumulated, 38 have fallen in just thirty minutes.

All of this has caused hundreds of incidentsSuch as train line closures, water accumulation, closure of municipal facilities, and flooding of streets and roads that trapped some vehicles, especially in the Vallès Occidental region. The cold front moved away from the northeast before lunchtime, but showers returned to the northern half of the region in the afternoon. This episode also brought the first widespread snowfall of autumn to the high Pyrenees, where the snow quickly fell below 2,000 meters. These are some of the most notable rainfall totals and images from the storm.

• 86 l/m²: Castellcir
• 82 l/m²: Caldes de Montbui
• 77 l/m²Sabadell
• 75 l/m²: Scraper
• 65 l/m²: Cerdanyola del Vallès
• 62 l/m²: Sant Hilari Sacalm
• 61 l/m²: Benissanet
• 59 l/m²: Tibidabo
• 49 l/m²: El Masroig
• 47 l/m²: Yours
• 47 l/m²: Figueres
• 44 l/m²: Girona
• 39 l/m²: Cabdella Tower
• 37 l/m²: Barcelona (University Area)