A CHILLY front from north-western Scandinavia will bring a wintery start to spring across the whole of the top half of mainland Spain, snow in inland areas and a significant temperature drop everywhere else, according to weathermen.
If you're in inland Spain, your view from the window when you welcome April 2022 might look a bit like this (photo: Pixabay)
After several weeks of persistent, and often heavy, rain in much of the country, particularly the coasts, and a temperature 'real-feel' below what would normally be experienced at this time of year – even though actual thermometer figures have been about average or above – means the end of winter in the run-up to the spring equinox on March 21 has not felt much like an awakening of dewy flowers and watery sunshine, but more like deep autumn.
And this is set to continue for a while, or even get colder and more winterlike, says the State meteorological agency, AEMET.
What it calls a 'Scandinavian Superwave' will cause temperatures to fall by up to 15ºC, and this weekend will bring 'full-blown winter early mornings' to everywhere from Madrid to the north coast.
Meteored, another key weather network, says: “The air from the Arctic will come right up to your front door.”
The 'Scandinavian Superwave' is set to embrace the whole of continental Europe, and to enter Spain via the Atlantic and across the Pyrénées, where thick snow is expected.
Pyrénéen ski resorts are scheduled to remain open until the end of Easter, meaning this will prove very welcome, although many others – such as the popular Teruel resorts of Javalambre and Valdelinares – have already been shut for several days.
Ice and frosts in the north, and inland parts of Catalunya and the northern Comunidad Valenciana, as well as in most central provinces, are likely until at least next week, and low-lying parts of Catalunya, the Balearic Islands and the rest of the Mediterranean seaboard will experience a general drop in the mercury with persistent rain, locally heavy, and possibly the odd storm.
The snowline will reduce to around 500 metres, and may even fall to 400 metres, meaning coastal areas will – as they nearly always do – escape the white stuff, which might only be visible on the mountains in the background.
But much of Spain inland from its coasts is at a high altitude, even many of its big cities – including Madrid, which sits at 657 metres above sea-level – so a snowline of 500 metres means a winter wonderland will probably greet the population of most of the country when they look out of their windows from Saturday onwards.
AEMET speaks of a light dusting, however, rather than a dense carpet, except towards the summit of the highest mountains in the north-east.
During cold snaps in Spain, snow is very common at 600 to 800 metres above sea-level, meaning entire towns and apparently flat swathes of countryside get frequent coverings, not just high peaks, although it is extremely rare at sea-level, even a long way from the coast.
But Mediterranean beaches carpeted in abundant white have been seen twice in the past 40 years – the most recent, in January 2017, saw delighted residents in Dénia and Jávea (northern Alicante province) uploading photographs of snowmen against a backdrop of the sea on social media.
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