Laurence Dollimore
THE first winter storm of the year will bring a cold snap and snow to multiple areas of Spain, meteorologists have said.
According to weather service El Tiempo, the white stuff is expected to fall at medium and low altitudes and the accumulations could be ‘very significant in some mountain areas’.
The experts said warnings for heavy snowfall this weekend have already been activated.
The report said: “Although the accumulations will stand out in northern mountain ranges, in many parts of the centre it could also snow until Tuesday of next week. There is still uncertainty so these forecasts may still change.
“On Saturday afternoon snowfall will begin to occur in the north of the peninsula, mainly in the Cantabrian region and the Pyrenees, although also in the north of the Iberian Peninsula with altitudes that will drop to 900-1000 metres. On Sunday and Monday, altitudes (where it will snow) will drop to 500-700 metres.”
The experts said the Pyrenees could see more than a metre of snow fall over the weekend.
The region has an orange-level warning in place on Saturday, with more than 20cm expected in areas 900m above sea level, increasing to 40cm in higher areas.
They added: “The northern face of the Pyrenees in Huesca and Lleida will probably be the areas most affected by this snowfall.
“The latest forecast shows that it will continue to snow until Wednesday, but the accumulated snow until Tuesday will already exceed one-and-a-half metres.”
Meanwhile, a yellow-level warning is in place for snow in the Cantabrian regions of Picos de Europa and Leon on Saturday.
Snowfall will also reach the central area of the country by Sunday, including the Sierra de Madrid, albeit much weaker than what is expected in the north.
The snow will then travel south to Andalucia, where ‘some flakes’ could fall on the Sierra Nevada range in Granada by Monday.
Forecasts predict up to 7cm could fall in the area on the first day of next week.
