FIVE provinces are on pre-emergency alert over expected heavy snowfall this weekend.

Nine other regions are expected to experience some snow today or Monday, but it is not predicted to be serious.

In the Catalunya provinces of Lérida, Girona and Barcelona, snow is expected to reach eight centimetres (three inches) in depth and make driving conditions dangerous.

The same is true of Huesca (Aragón) and Castellón (Comunidad Valenciana), particularly in mountainous inland areas, which are on ‘orange alert’.

In Barcelona, snow is expected to fall in areas of between 1,200 and 1,600 above sea-level, and in the Pyrénées it could reach between a foot and fifteen inches in depth.

Throughout the rest of Aragón, the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza could experience snowfall, and that of Valencia.

Other regions that may be affected are Madrid, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra, and the western provinces of Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha.

Heavy rain is predicted in Teruel, Tarragona, Zaragoza, and Guipúzcoa, and throughout the regions of La Rioja and Navarra.

Windy weather is predicted to strike today and Monday in Valencia, Alicante, Albacete and Murcia.