Peak temperatures today, but winter cold will return this week

BarcelonaThe westerly wind has prevailed in recent hours, causing temperatures to rise even further and leaving behind the Arctic chill of a few days ago (you will find data on this temperature contrast at the end of this report). This weather pattern will continue into today. Monday begins with moderate cold, with maximum temperatures peaking, and a milder feeling at midday. However, a new, colder air mass will arrive on Tuesday, bringing temperatures back below the usual levels for late November. It seems that the unseasonably warm winter weather is reluctant to leave our homes.

Monday: intervals of clouds and a descending snow level by the end of the day

The week begins with a morning considerably less cold than in previous days, with westerly winds and temperatures ranging from 11°C to 16°C across much of the country at midday, and from 17°C to 20°C along the coast and in the southern half. Generally mild and pleasant. Clouds will return, moving from west to east and increasing cloud cover during the afternoon. These clouds will bring some precipitation, generally light and mainly concentrated in the western Pyrenees and other areas of the west. The snow level will drop significantly by the end of the day, reaching 1,000 meters again in the Pyrenees, although it will remain between 1,700 and 2,000 meters during the morning and much of the afternoon.

Tuesday: snow in the Pyrenees and colder weather

Looking ahead to Tuesday, we'll notice a clear drop in temperatures, although the lowest will be recorded at the end of the day. The day will again be marked by cloud cover in the north and east of the country and some showers that will also affect the Balearic Islands. The temperature drop, which by midday will mean that highs will no longer exceed 16°C or 17°C in the highest areas, will cause the snow level to fluctuate between 800 and 1,100 meters in the Pyrenees, where at higher elevations more than a foot of fresh snow could accumulate during this period.

Furthermore, strong westerly winds will blow across the southern half of the region. In this regard, Meteocat has issued a wind warning for the Baix Penedès, Tarragonès, Baix Camp, Ribera d'Ebre, Terra Alta, Montsià, and Baix Ebre regions, which will be in effect throughout the early morning hours. The cold will intensify in the coming days, reaching its lowest point on Thursday with fully wintry conditions and widespread nighttime frosts. However, temperatures will not plummet to the extreme lows seen during last week's exceptional arctic cold snap.

A weekend of thermal contrast

The mass of Arctic air that reached the country last week brought the lowest temperatures of the year so far, with minimums in the high Pyrenees dropping below -15°C. The mercury hadn't been this cold in this area since February 2023. However, temperatures recovered very quickly in some areas over the weekend and experienced significant variations: in Bonaigua (2,266 m), the minimum went from -13.9°C on Saturday to -5.1°C on Saturday, and then to -1.3°C on Sunday. In other cases, especially in the northeast, calmer winds contributed to a slightly colder early morning than the previous day. Here is a summary of the temperature variations: