Temperatures in freefall: the arrival of the Arctic cold is imminent

BarcelonaTemperatures dropped further on Tuesday, failing to reach 20°C anywhere. Most highs ranged between 11 and 16°C, but in some inland areas they fell below 10°C. And the thermometers will continue to drop in the coming days. The decline will continue on Wednesday, and between Thursday and Saturday the mercury will plummet due to the arrival of a very cold Arctic air mass that will also leave much of Europe frozen and snow-covered at lower elevations. We can expect truly wintry days, with temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees below the average for this time of year. On Thursday, a front will cross the region, bringing showers to some areas, with the snow level plummeting to 600 or 500 meters throughout the day. And between Wednesday night and the weekend, the northern face of the Pyrenees will receive several snowfalls that will leave the most significant snow depths so far.

Wednesday: colder

We'll wake up to cold weather everywhere. Frost will be widespread in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and there will also be some light frosts in inland areas. On the coast and pre-coastal areas, many minimum temperatures will range between 5 and 10 °C. Maximum temperatures will also be lower, with many values between 9 and 14 °C, slightly higher in the south, but lower inland and especially in the Pyrenees.

All this with fairly calm and sunny weather. There will only be some thin, decorative clouds, morning fog, and some early morning cloud cover between the Barcelona coast and the southern Costa Brava, although we can't rule out the odd isolated shower. In the afternoon, cloud cover will increase in the northeast, which could bring some isolated showers, and cloud cover will increase on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, where the first precipitation will arrive late in the day, with the snow level dropping to 1,000 m. North winds at the extremes, especially in the morning.

Winter cold and snow at fairly low elevations

On Thursday, the mass of cold air of Arctic origin will begin to arrive, and temperatures will plummet. Many highs are expected to be between 6 and 12 °C. A front will arrive, reactivating the northerly winds and also causing showers in parts of the Girona and Barcelona regions. And be aware of the snow level, as it will drop from the initial 900 m to 600 or 500 m. Some showers will still occur at night, and the snow level will drop even further.

This situation will need to be monitored closely, as it may snow outside the Pyrenees in unusual locations. It seems that areas such as Montseny, the Transversal mountain range, Montserrat, and the Sant Llorenç del Munt i el Obac Natural Park may see snow, although initially only anecdotally and without any major snowfall.

In contrast, a snowfall will begin on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, continuing in several layers until the weekend. It will snow at practically all elevations, and intermittently on the southern slopes. In the higher elevations of the Aran Valley, northern Pallars Sobirà, and the Atlantic-influenced areas of Andorra, accumulations of more than 20 or 25 cm of snow are possible this week. On Thursday and Friday, showers and strong storms are also expected in the Balearic Islands, with snow potentially falling in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca above 700 m. This will be a truly wintry situation, with the cold reaching its lowest point on Friday and into the early hours of Saturday. A strong northerly wind is also expected across the region on Friday. In the higher elevations of the Pyrenees, the mercury could drop locally to -15°C or below; much of the interior will experience frost, and in many coastal areas, minimum temperatures will fall below 5°C.