The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) predicts that spring will be “remarkably warm” in Catalonia, in line with this winter, one of the warmest since records began. However, it will have a normal rainfall pattern for the time of year, which may provide relief for the serious drought that the community is experiencing.
“A rainy spring is expected, which would be normal values, because together, along with autumn, they are the two rainiest times of the year,” explained the agency’s territorial delegate, Ramon Pascual, at a press conference.
However, Pascual assures that there is always some uncertainty with the rainfall and its intensity that may occur during the spring, because medium and long-term forecasts are difficult.
“There is a difficulty associated with the method and the atmospheric behavior, which depends on many variables that make it impossible to determine in a part of the peninsula – where Catalonia is located – how the situation will be,” he stressed during his appearance, in which he explained the forecasts for the upcoming dates.
In addition to the rains that may come, another factor to take into account with regard to water reserves is the melting of the snow that has fallen in recent days, although the territorial delegate of the Aemet in Catalonia has specified that “it will translate in a small increase” in the swamps.
“There is more snow accumulated in the Lleida Pyrenees than in the East, where the basins of the Ter-Llobregat System are located – the one that feeds Barcelona and part of Girona and which is in the emergency phase -, and the amount of snow is below average,” he noted.
Likewise, the meteorologist details that high temperatures, as expected in spring, “favor the evaporation” of snow, so that there is less water left for melting to end up in the rivers. Therefore, if the rise in temperatures occurs without rain, “the situation will worsen”, he has warned.
To reverse the drought, the meteorologist continues, “sometimes, two or three episodes of precipitation radically change the situation, as happened with Storm Gloria in 2020.” Another formula, several episodes like the one experienced last weekend.
Catalonia is suffering the worst drought in history and, although the rain and snow front last weekend has provided a respite, it is totally insufficient since the reserves of the internal basins have grown only half a percentage point and are at 14, 7%.
