The weather fronts are relentless: more showers, snow and wind in the coming days

BarcelonaThe weather offers no respite. Yesterday we started the week with strong winds in many regions and another widespread snowfall across the Pyrenees (you'll find the most important details of the latest episode of snow and gales at the end of this report). Looking ahead to the next few hours and days, the weather will remain unsettled and highly changeable due to the passage of new Atlantic fronts, the next one associated with a new Atlantic storm called JosephAll of this will make today a rather cloudy day with a risk of showers or drizzle moving across the country from west to east throughout the day. Rain will be scattered here and there, mostly outside the Pyrenees of Lleida, with temperatures rising slightly. Once the front passes, the wind will regain strength and spread, and temperatures will drop significantly on Wednesday. The snow level will be temporarily high on Tuesday, but will fall again afterward. With so much snow, wind, and temperature fluctuations, the avalanche risk remains high throughout the Pyrenees. Exercise extreme caution in high mountain areas.

Tuesday: Unsettled weather

The passage of a new cold front will bring increased cloud cover on Tuesday, with some light showers moving across the region from west to east, especially in the afternoon. Overall, rainfall will be light, with the heaviest precipitation expected on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida. Some slightly heavier showers are possible between Barcelona and Girona during the afternoon, although they will be brief. The snow level will rise temporarily to 1,800 meters due to warmer southerly winds, but will drop back down to 1,500 or 1,300 meters throughout the day.

All of this will be accompanied by southerly winds, particularly noticeable in the northeast and at higher elevations in the Pyrenees, where locally there will be blizzard conditions. From tonight onwards, the wind will shift to a westerly or mistral direction and become more widespread. Temperatures will rise, both minimum and maximum, more gently, with many reaching 12 to 17°C. The rise will be significant in the northeast and in areas on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees and the Alt Pirineu due to this warmed southerly wind.

A little bit of everything throughout the week

Wednesday will be a day of changeable skies, with some light and passing showers in the central and southern parts of the country, gusty winds until mid-morning, and colder temperatures. On Thursday, a new front will bring more rain in the early morning. The snow level will drop below 1,000 meters again in the Pyrenees in the coming days. Therefore, very changeable weather with a bit of everything, and a rollercoaster of temperatures, which will remain relatively stable.

Summary of the latest episode of wind and snow

Between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, we experienced another episode of strong northerly winds in many regions. The strongest gusts were recorded along the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona and Tarragona, in the northern part of Alt Empordà, and at high elevations in the Pyrenees, accompanied by blizzard conditions. In these areas, wind speeds frequently reached between 50 and 80 km/h, but locally exceeded 90 or 100 km/h. These are the most notable wind speeds above 90 km/h:

• 115 km/h: Mount Sesolles (1,668 m)
• 108 km/h: La Riba
• 107 km/h: El Perelló
• 105 km/h: Constantine
• 105 km/h: Miami Beach
• 105 km/h: El Vendrell
• 105 km/h: Hospitalet de l'Infant
• 99 km/h: Portbou
• 93 km/h: Font-rubí
• 92 km/h: Mas de Barberans
• 91 km/h: Riudecanyes
• 90 km/h: Spot

Furthermore, a new widespread snowfall occurred throughout the Pyrenees during the night, early morning, and morning of Monday. It mainly affected the northern slopes, but also fell heavily on the southern slopes and even down to the valley floors. At higher elevations in the Alt Pirineu, more than 20 cm of new snow accumulated, while Puigcerdà, the capital of the Cerdanya region, recorded 12 cm. In Núria, a new record for accumulated snowfall was reached, with 144 cm after adding 19 cm in the last few hours. This is the greatest accumulation in 26 years of records at this location, situated at an altitude of 1,971 meters in the Ripollès region, and slightly surpasses the previous record of 142 cm, set in January 2006. These are the most notable snow depths from the last snowfall:

• 28 cm: Malniu (2,230 m)
• 28 cm: Certascan (2,400 m)
• 22 cm: Bonaigua (2,266 m)
• 20 cm: Spot (2.519 m)
• 19 cm Núria (1,971 m)
• 19 cm: Sasseuva (2,228 m)
• 17 cm: Ulldeter (1,999 m)
• 16 cm: Bonabé (1,693 m)
• 15 cm: the Boí Valley (1,270 m)
• 14 cm: Plans
• 12 cm: Puigcerdà
• 12 cm: Das
• 8 cm: Old