AT LEAST half of mainland Spain will be covered in snow this weekend – even southern and coastal provinces, according to the State meteorological agency, AEMET.
La Rioja in the far north will see the most white stuff, with around 45 centimetres (18 inches) forecast over a 24-hour period today (Saturday) and Sunday.
A cold front coming in from the west will bring firstly snow at altitudes above approximately 400 to 700 metres, then downpours, both accompanied by plummeting temperatures.
The Cantabrian mountains, the high Ebro, western Pyrénées, north-eastern coast, Galicia, Aragón and central sierras will see the most torrential rain.
'Orange' and 'yellow' weather warnings have been issued for snow for Saturday and Sunday in the regions of Aragón, the Basque Country, Cantabria, Madrid, Navarra, Asturias, Castilla y León except for the province of Zamora, La Rioja, Castilla-La Mancha excepting the province of Ciudad Real, the Andalucía provinces of Jaén and Granada, the inland Catalunya province of Lleida, the Extremadura province of Cáceres, and the province of Castellón on the east coast.
In most areas, particularly in towns and cities, snow is unlikely to be much deeper than five to 10 centimetres (two to four inches) and, although the probability of snowfall in major metropolitan areas is as high as 60%, it is expected to turn to slush relatively quickly.
Other than Castellón, all the Mediterranean provinces, including the Balearic Islands, will escape the snow, but many will be hit by heavy rain.
'Yellow' warnings for rain have been issued for the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga (Andalucía), of Barcelona and Tarragona (Catalunya), the land-locked northern region of Navarra, and the Basque province of Guipúzcoa, the capital of which is San Sebastián.
Four Andalucía provinces – Málaga, Jaén, Cádiz and Granada – as well as most of the Canary Islands, Madrid, all of Catalunya except the province of Girona, and the Spanish-owed city-province of Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast are on 'yellow' alerts for high winds, and the entire Cantabrian Sea and Galicia coasts and the Canary Islands are on 'yellow' and 'orange' warnings for tidal surges.
Monday will see the turbulent weather conditions start to abate, although heavy rain is forecast in the far north, Balearic Islands, central and Aragonese mountains and the south-east and north of the Canary Islands.
A cloudy front heading across from the Atlantic from Monday onwards will bring rain in the north and possibly in the eastern mountains of the mainland, the northern Canary Islands and the Balearics, but calmer and drier conditions are expected along the Mediterranean coast and the southern Canary Islands.
