Still awaiting wind and snow at the doors of the key days of Holy Week

BarcelonaIn general, the wind lost a lot of extent this Monday, but the tramuntana continued to blow with great force on the peaks of the Pyrenees and the Alt Empordà, where locally the 100 km/h were again widely exceeded. Highlights include the 158 km/h reached in Portbou and the 99 in the Darnius-Boadella reservoir (Alt Empordà), the 138 in Boí (altitude 2,537 m, Alta Ribagorça), the 105 in La Tosa d'Alp (altitude 2,478 m, Cerdanya) and the 90 in Molló (Ripollès). All this after Sunday's storm left 168 km/h in Portbou as the most extreme gust recorded across the country. In the coming days, the wind will remain, and even intensify at the extremes. On Tuesday, it will snow again on the north face of the Pyrenees, and on Wednesday a new front will cross us, reactivating the snowfall in a large part of the Pyrenees, with temperatures under control. But the maps maintain that the key days of Holy Week will be marked by general calm and a clearer rise in thermometers.

Tuesday: wind and sun, with exceptions

This Tuesday, the last day of March, the weather will remain similar to Monday's, with general sunshine and more clouds in the Pyrenees, where precipitation will continue on the north face. The snowline will move between 1,400 and 1,200 m. The mistral and tramuntana winds will continue to blow at the extremities of the country, and will even strengthen further. Gusts will be particularly strong in the peaks of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees –with blizzards– and in all of Empordà, but strong winds may also be notable in the Ebro region and in the south of Camp de Tarragona, in Castelló and in Menorca. Speeds will again exceed 100 km/h in some cases. Meteocat and Aemet maintain alerts for strong winds in several regions.

All this, with a clear rise in minimum temperatures, after the late and extensive frosts on Monday morning in parts of the interior and the pre-littoral. Therefore, the cold will be more moderate at first, and farmers will have to be less alert on Tuesday night to Wednesday. Maximums will drop in the Pyrenees and on the central coast, here due to the entry of cooler maritime winds. On the other hand, the mercury will rise in the south and in Ponent. Many values will range between 16 and 21 °C, clearly lower in mountainous areas.

Last onslaught of strong wind and snow

On Wednesday, a new cold front will cross us, reactivating snowfall in much of the Pyrenees from just 1,000 or 1,200 m. This episode will particularly affect the north face, but will also extend to the south face. Caution still these days if we are in the Pyrenees: the vehicle must be well equipped. The snowfall may last until Thursday, with strong winds at the extremes and blizzards at high and medium Pyrenean altitudes. Some showers are also not ruled out between Girona and Barcelona on Wednesday night to Thursday.

But from then on, the Azores high will finally embrace us, and this will make the weather much calmer from Friday onwards. Therefore, the key days of Holy Week, when most of the population has a holiday, will be marked by stability and good weather. The thermometers will rise more, with very mild afternoons.