Met Office warns of 'significant change' with storm bringing rain and cold weather for Easter week in Spain

The thermometers will reach up to 30C in southern parts of Spain this weekend, according to the forecast Spain's state weather agency (Aemet). It will, however, be an oasis in the middle of a week of unstable and "changeable" weather that will be accompanied by rain and cold.

Aemet spokesperson Rubén del Campo explained, the presence of a 'Dana' (high level depression) in the Canary Islands will bring "unstable weather".

On Saturday, temperatures were "warm for the season", with highs exceeding 25C in large parts of the country and reaching 30C in the Guadalquivir Valley. The situation in the Canary Islands remained "unsettled", with heavy showers, snow on the peaks of the most mountainous islands, as well as strong winds, while on the Spanish mainland there was rain in parts of the Cantabrian Sea area.

However, during the day, the state agency noted an "extraordinary drop in temperatures" in the western third of the Spanish mainland, which left a drop of more than 10C with respect to the previous day in cities such as Pamplona and Vitoria, which went go from 25 or 26C on Friday to 14 or 15 degrees on Saturday. Meanwhile, the rest of the mainland continued to record "unseasonably warm" highs, with close to 30C in parts of the Guadalquivir, accompanied, however, by a 'calima' haze for yet another day.

From today (Sunday 24 March) onwards, and due to the Dana's distance from the Canary Islands, the rain will be less intense in the archipelago and will subside during the course of the day. However, as the isolated depression approaches the Spanish mainland, instability will increase in the southern third of the country, which could cause showers and thunderstorms in southern Andalucía and, above all, in the Sierra Nevada area. The maximum temperatures will be around 30C in Cordoba, Granada and Seville, but will drop in the Mediterranean area and the Balearic Islands, while cities such as Castellón and Alicante will have temperatures below 20C, according to Del Campo, who also said that there will again be the 'calima' haze.

What about next week? The spokesperson said that "a significant change in the weather" is expected for Monday, when a storml is expected to approach the mainland so that, during the day, rain will be likely in most of the country - less in the west of the northern plateau - and could be "abundant" in parts of Andalucía and the eastern Cantabrian.

At the same time, snowfall is expected by the end of the day at altituded of to 600 to 1,000 metres in the northwest and to 1,000 metres in the rest of the northern half and in central areas of the country. At the same time, temperatures will fall "notably" almost everywhere in the country, except in the Cantabrian Sea, where they will rise.

Tuesday will be a day of "mixed weather", with showers likely "almost anywhere" in Spain (less likely in the southeast of the mainland) and more abundant in the area around the Pyrenees and Andalusian mountains. As a result, the mountains of the north and central areas will record heavy snowfalls during this day and it is not ruled out that snow will also fall in lower areas, especially in the northern Meseta.

As for temperatures, the day will be "cold for the time of year", according to the spokesperson, who said that although the Mediterranean coast will be above 20C or 22C, much of the west of the mainland will be between 5 and 10 degrees lower than usual and inland temperatures will be below 15C. Cities such as Logroño, Pamplona, Cuenca, Burgos and Ávila will be below 10 degrees.

Daytime temperatures will recover on Wednesday, with a rise in snow levels, which will be restricted to the mountains. However, rain will continue to fall over a large part of the country and will be more abundant in Galicia and other parts of the northwest, and less likely in the southeast.

Looking ahead to the second half of the week, from Maundy Thursday onwards, "it is most likely that fronts associated with Atlantic storm will continue to pass over Spain, so rain is expected in large parts of the country, especially in the west, as well as in the higher regions.

Although the thermometers will rise during the day, the Aemet spokesperson said that they are likely to fall in the following days. Thus, temperatures will be somewhat cool in parts of the west of the country, mild in the eastern third of the country and the Balearic Islands - where many area will exceed 20 and 22C - and typical for the time of year in the rest of Spain.

During Holy Week in the Canary Islands, rain is expected in the north of the islands with higher areas relief and there will be calmer weather in general in the south of the archipelago. Thermometers will tend to rise, with maximum temperatures between 21 and 23C in coastal areas.

Similarly, eltiempo.es points out that a new storm and trough is expected from Maundy Thursday, which could bring rain to the west and north of the Spanish mainland. Therefore, on Thursday there will be heavy rain in Galicia, western Castile and Leon and northern Extremadura in the afternoon. On Good Friday, a front could bring heavy rain to the west of Andalucía early in the day. This front could reach the central area and even the eastern interior during the afternoon, leaving storms in the northern plateau that would gradually diminish by the end of the day, although it is not expected to reach the Mediterranean.

The weather portal points out that fronts associated with the new storm could continue to arrive during Saturday and Sunday. At the same time, the most important could occur in areas of the Atlantic slope, with more than 160mm in the west of Galicia, more than 130mm in the north of Cáceres and around 100mm in the Sierra de Grazalema in Andalucía's Cadiz province.