Rain, snow, wind and sea storms will star this weekend in March which, in the words of the spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Rubén del Campo, will be marked by “winter weather” due to the presence of a storm that “is going to lead to an episode of adverse weather.”
In this way, it is expected that there will be “widespread and abundant” precipitation while snow will “make an appearance not only in mountain areas, but also in lower areas.” “And although the wind is not the most adverse factor, it will also cause poor sea conditions and will blow with intensity, increasing the sensation of unpleasant weather,” Del Campo said.
The spokesperson has indicated that this Saturday there will be widespread rain, which will be more abundant in the west and center of the country, as well as in parts of Aragon and Catalonia, which will not affect the extreme southeast and, if it does, it will be in the form of light showers or precipitation. In the Balearic Islands, heavy snowfall is expected in the northern and central mountains, with accumulations of ten to twenty centimeters of new snow. It will also snow, with less accumulation, in flat areas, with a level that will be around 700 to 1,000 meters in the north, 1,000 to 1,200 meters in the center and in the south, although in the latter area it will rise to about 1,400 meters.
Temperatures will drop, especially during the day, and in inland areas it will barely reach 10 or 12 degrees Celsius (ºC), which, together with the wind that will blow strongly, “will increase the feeling of cold,” in the words of Del Campo, who added that gusts that may exceed 70 kilometers per hour (km/h) are expected on the northern plateau, with stronger gusts in the mountains and northern coastal areas.
For Saturday, the storm will be located in the Bay of Biscay and it will be a day of rainfall that may fall in practically any point of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, although with less intensity in points of the Levant and the eastern Cantabrian Sea. The spokesperson has indicated that the heaviest rains, which will also possibly be accompanied by storms, will occur in the west and center of the Peninsula, as well as in Andalusia, east of Castilla-La Mancha, extreme south of Aragon and the Pyrenees area. Meanwhile, the wind gusts will be intense and may reach 80 km/h in northern coastal areas and in the mountains.
Also in the mountains, between 10 and 20 centimeters of new snow may accumulate and outside the mountainous areas it will also snow. The level may drop in the northwest of the Peninsula to about 600 meters in the northwest, between 800 and 1,000 meters in the rest of the northern half and central zone and to about 1,000-1,200 meters in the southern half of the Peninsula.
Daytime temperatures “will drop a little more”, although frost will be restricted to mountain areas. “It will be a cold day,” summarized the spokesperson, for whom this drop in temperatures “will leave a cold environment for the time of year, especially in daytime temperatures, which in many parts of the interior of the peninsula will be between 5 and 10ºC. below normal for this time of year. He has also highlighted that the maritime storm will be important in the Galician community during the weekend since the waves in Galicia, both on Saturday and on the previous day, may reach heights greater than the seven meters.
On Sunday the influence of this storm will continue, although the spokesperson has specified that it will weaken and there will be “widespread rains that are less abundant than in previous days.” The largest accumulations will occur in the Cantabrian Sea, while in the Levant and the Balearic Islands it will barely rain. It will continue to snow in the mountains, especially in the central and northern ones, with a snow level that will rise from 900 meters at the beginning of the day in the northern half and central zone to about 1,000 to 1,400 meters, the same as in the southern half. , where temperatures will rise in the central hours of the day.
In this sense, thermometers are going to rise on Sunday in much of the country, although the cold atmosphere for the time of year will continue in the interior. However, on the shores of the Mediterranean, the maximum temperature will already exceed 18 or 20ºC.
As for the Canary Islands, heading into the weekend, northerly winds with cloudy skies are expected, especially in the north of the islands with greater relief and light rains in general. Temperatures will drop in that area.
