Storm “Francis” will bring rain and snow in Spain in the next few days, according to the forecast of the spokesman for the National Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Rubén del Campo. The heaviest rainfall for days has occurred on Saturday around the Gulf of Cádiz and on Sunday in areas in the west and south of Andalusia and in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. This rainfall can be heavy, accompanied by storms and persistent.
Regarding the snowfall, he stated that there is still a lot of uncertainty about where it will occur and in which areas it will be most common. Initially, it could snow on Saturday night in the far north and on Sunday in areas mainly in the north and middle of the peninsula at low levels. Snow could fall as early as Monday in the area around the Cantabrian Mountains and in large parts of the eastern interior of the peninsula and the central area.
“In any case, there will be a low-level snowfall episode, which will therefore affect areas with large populations and important communication routes. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to consult the weather forecast and the condition of roads before traveling, especially on January 4th, 5th and 6th,” warned the AEMET spokesman.
This Friday there will still be unstable weather in the Canary Islands, where, in addition to a sea storm, there will also be very strong showers and strong gusts of wind. On the peninsula, “Francis” will leave its first rains, especially in the Cantabrian Sea, in Castile and León and in the north of Extremadura.
In terms of area, it is most common in the north of Extremadura and the south of Castilla y León. Otherwise, dense and locally persistent fog will occur in the central and eastern parts of the peninsula, with temperatures expected to rise significantly on this day as the storm draws in warm and moist air from the Atlantic.
Harsh weather will continue in the Canary Islands on Saturday, with rain on the northern and western slopes of the islands and possibly very strong wind gusts in the archipelago. The AEMET spokesman explained that “Francis” will leave rainfall on the peninsula, especially in Extremadura, west of Castile-La Mancha, south and west of Andalusia and points in the Mediterranean, especially in the Valencian Community. According to the forecast, this rainfall could be locally heavy, accompanied by storms and persistent.
Meanwhile, there will also be rainfall in the extreme north of the peninsula, where a mass of very cold air of Arctic origin will arrive in the late hours. As a result, the snow depth will decrease and will be around 400 to 500 meters by the end of the day. In general, temperatures will rise except in the southeast of the peninsula and the extreme north.
Sunday will be a difficult forecast day, according to Del Campo, as the interaction between the Arctic air mass and Storm Francis comes into play. In this way, rainfall is expected in large parts of the east, center and south of the peninsula as well as the Balearic Islands. In addition, intense, locally heavy and persistent rainfall may occur in the south of Andalusia and the Mediterranean, especially in the Valencian Community.
On the other hand, the AEMET spokesman has indicated that snow may fall in low altitudes in the Cantabrian Sea and especially in areas in the south of Aragon, east of Castile and León and north of Castile-La Mancha, and it is not excluded that it will fall in other parts of the central area, especially from the afternoon. In this sense, Del Campo has warned that heavily populated areas and important communication routes could be affected by snowfall from midday.
Likewise, on this day there will be a sharp drop in temperature in the north and center of the peninsula, where there will be frost. In this sense, maximum temperatures will remain below 5°C in many cases. On the Canary Islands, however, the showers will continue.
THE WEEK STARTS WITH TEMPERATURES OF JUST 5°C
There is also great forecast uncertainty on Monday the 5th, Epiphany Eve. According to the AEMET spokesman, snowfall is likely to occur at low altitudes in the Cantabrian Sea as well as in the eastern interior of the peninsula, particularly in areas of Catalonia, Aragon, eastern Castile-La Mancha, interior of the Valencian Community and parts of eastern Andalusia.
At the same time it can also snow in the central area. In general, Del Campo pointed out that “at the moment it is difficult to predict which area will have more snow that day,” but that in any case the snow depth “will be very low.” Specifically, it will be at a distance of around 200 meters, meaning that important population groups and communication routes could be affected again.
As for temperatures, they will continue to fall on this day, so it will be a “very cold” Epiphany evening across the country, with frosts in the north, center and east, which may be locally severe. On this day it will not reach 5°C in large areas and in some cities such as Ávila it may be below zero all day long. It will also rain in the north of the Canary Islands.
Instability is likely to ease on the 6th, Epiphany, although rain and snowfall could still occur in the Cantabrian Sea at low levels. The AEMET spokesman does not rule out that these could spread to the rest of the northern third and has also suggested that they will again be registered in the extreme southeast of the peninsula.
According to the forecast, severe frost will occur in much of the interior of the peninsula on this day and the atmosphere will be cold throughout the day, similar to Monday. In the following days, precipitation is most likely to occur in the northern third and in spots on the southern end of the peninsula. Although the weather will be cold, temperatures will tend to rise from Wednesday.
SNOW FALLS ON LOW LEVELS
Eltiempo.es added that the interaction between the cold air already settled and the humidity from the Mediterranean could favor snowfall at low altitudes on Monday, January 5, especially in the Cantabrian Mountains, where accumulations could be significant, as well as in areas of the Iberian Peninsula, in the east of the Southern Plateau, in the pre-coastal mountain ranges of the Mediterranean and in the area around the Baetics.
At the same time, the weather portal does not rule out occasional snowfalls in other areas in the center of the peninsula. In general, he pointed out that the snow depth would tend to decrease significantly. On the other hand, Meteored has indicated that the system that will leave the heaviest snowfall will be the frontal system that will develop between the Mediterranean and continental polar air masses.
As explained, these will occur primarily in the southern Iberian region, off the Mediterranean coast, at the eastern end of the central system and possibly at points east of the plateaus.
Given the insecurity that exists in these areas, he asked not to lose sight of areas such as the two plateaus; the Iberian, Central, Cantabrian and Pyrenees mountain ranges (in the latter, attention had to be paid to the very low level snowfall scenario suggested by the maps for Reyes) and the east-southeast of the peninsula, where locally significant snowfalls, particularly in mountainous areas, are not excluded.
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