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Weekend weather will be marked by a sharp drop in temperatures and the possibility of a Mediterranean hurricane

Weekend weather will be marked by a sharp drop in temperatures and the possibility of a Mediterranean hurricane

A cold air mass will cause the thermometers to drop 10 degrees below normal for this time of year throughout the Spanish mainland. On Thursday a temperature of -8 degrees was recorded in Andalucia's Sierra Nevada

EUROPA PRESS

Friday, 5 November 2021, 10:36

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A polar air mass hanging over the Spanish mainland will be responsible for the fact that in the coming days the temperatures will be up to 10 degrees below normal for the time of year, according to the spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), Rubén del Campo.

The cold snap, accompanied by snowfall in the northern mountains, will continue due to "the arrival of winds from the north that have driven a polar air mass to Spain that has caused temperatures to drop significantly."

But, as Del Campo pointed out, the polar air mass does not mean that it comes from the Pole, but that "the description is given to air masses from very high latitudes”. “For example, the origin of the current one could be the south of Greenland. But the air masses that come from much further north are called Arctic air masses," he specified.

Snow

For this reason, the temperatures since Wednesday have been between 4 and 7 degrees below normal in most of the Cantabrian Sea and the interior of the peninsula, while the snow has made an appearance in the mountainous in the centre and the northern half of the mainland, from 1,200 and 1,400 metres; and in high points of the Aragonese Pyrenees, above about 2,000 metres, where around ten centimetres of new snow accumulated.

Minus 8 degrees

Regarding temperatures, at 6am on 4 November, -8 degrees was recorded in Dílar (Granada), at an altitude of 2,800 metres in the Sierra Nevada, a value also recorded in Cap de Vaquèira and in Port Ainé, both in Lleida, at an altitude of about 2,400 metres

Looking ahead to the weekend the cloudy skies will continue in the extreme north of the country, but with lighter rainfall and the snowfalls will gradually subside while in the rest of the country, slightly cloudy skies or with some intervals of clouds will predominate, but in general without rainfall except in the Mediterranean area.

Frosts

The cold will persist until Sunday, with temperatures below normal throughout the country. In Malaga, Saturday is expected to be the coldest day since autumn began. Del Campo has pointed out that temperatures in inland areas could be between 5 and 10 degrees below normal for the time of year. In addition, there will be frosts in areas not only in the mountains, but also on plateaus and moors.

As for the maximum temperatures, they will also remain below 15 degrees in most of the interior of the peninsula and below 10 or 12 degrees in large areas of the northern half.

Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone

The Meteored expert Francisco Martín has warned that this weekend an intense Mediterranean hurricane could form southeast of the Balearic Islands. As of Sunday, the medicane could develop in an area triangulated by the Balearics, Sicily and northern Algeria. Although its centre could be over open water, the effects would be noticeable in land areas and nearby islands, a situation that could lead to an intense storm of wind and rough seas in the western Mediterranean.

Stability next week

As of Monday, the thermometers will begin to rise and the situation will tend to normalise, reaching values more typical of the first half of November. For next week, no significant rainfall is expected, only some weak drizzle in the Cantabrian region.

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