Winter will be drier than usual and 0.7ºC warmer in Spain, says AEMET

That doesn't mean you'll be able to spend it on the beach topping up your tan (although residents in the islands, the south and on the Mediterranean often do experience freak warm days where they can do just that), but it does mean the average temperature will be 0.7ºC higher than the norm for the season.

Although the meteorological seasons do not necessarily follow the ex-tropic solstices – the UK considers 'winter' to start in November, whilst in Australia, the first day of summer is December 1 - Spain does not differentiate between the two, meaning 'winter' officially begins at the end of the shortest night.

This means Sunday, December 22 at 05.19 in the morning on the mainland is when the season changes, even though it will still be dark in the far west for more than an hour after daylight breaks in the Balearic Islands.

This winter in Spain will be very dry, the eighth-warmest of this century, with very little rainfall.

In Catalunya and the province of Teruel – the latter being typically one of the coldest in the country where nights of -12ºC are not unusual – the temperature will be around 1ºC higher than normal, according to the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

Variations in the mercury will be less noticeable the farther south you head – very little change is expected in the Canary Islands which, geographically, are based on the African continent, around 100 kilometres west of the central Moroccan coast.

AEMET's spokesman Rubén del Campo says the south and Mediterranean in particular, but the country as a whole, will see much lower rainfall than normal, and no extreme weather phenomena such as torrential downpours, storms or gale-force winds are forecast.

At present, 15 provinces are on alert for gales, which have been particularly strong on the east coast, but these are expected to settle down in the next few days.

Winters in inland and northern Spain tend to be dry, bracing, very cold and with overnight frosts being a frequent feature, although homes in these areas are designed for this and most have central heating, either gas, oil, or hot water.

They are, however, much milder on the 'Costas' and islands, where homes are designed more to keep out the heat than the cold – in fact, many joke that a Mediterranean winter lasts two months outdoors and five months indoors.

In most of the country but especially in the warmer-winter areas, bright sunshine is guaranteed most days, even when it feels bitterly cold – and it is rare that a Mediterranean or southern winter is too cold to sit in a pavement café with plenty of layers on.

Thermals, except at night, are not often needed, and gloves are an accessory eastern and southern residents carry 'just in case'.

But those who head north and inland to seek out the snowscapes in the depths of winter – January and February is the best time to catch these – may discover that even a lifetime in the UK or Ireland has not prepared them for the deep freeze they encounter.

This, however, is welcome, because it means up to five months of skiing and sledging in these parts, and staying in hotels and houses which are cosy and warm.

Rubén del Campo says winter 2019-2020 will not be one of those where residents are wrapped in quilts and unable to take their coats off indoors – in fact, since 2011, every single winter has had an average temperature higher than the 'norm' for the season.

The 21^st century in Spain is starting to see a 'new normal' winter temperature arise, AEMET says.