The prevailing period of stable weather that began last Thursday, at the end of the exceptionally high temperature episode, continues. “A strong anticyclone that covers a large part of Western Europe will create a blocking situation, meaning that it will remain stationary for many days and prevent the arrival of storms that could leave rain in Spain,” explains Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). In addition to the lack of rain, another common consequence is a deterioration in air quality and the formation of fog banks at low altitudes, which are expected this weekend, especially in the northern plains. So on Saturday and Sunday there will be “hardly any rain or snowfall and from Wednesday there could be some rain in the far north of the peninsula, especially in the eastern Cantabrian Sea, with snow in the Pyrenees.”
And so great is the power of this monster anticyclone, “Almost a record for the month of December” because there is only one precedent from 1980 that says this stable weather with patches of fog, frost and little rain will last “probably until next weekend” when the Christmas holidays begin.
The fog will make the atmosphere very cold throughout the day. In addition, Del Campo warns, “fog could freeze,” that is, turn into ice, especially on the northern plateau. “As the temperature remains below zero for many hours, the fog forms ice deposits when it hits surfaces such as asphalt, trees, road signs, etc., which can make travel significantly more difficult, both due to reduced visibility and related to the fog itself as well as the presence of ice sheets,” he points out. A third effect of the persistent high pressure area is the deterioration of air quality in large cities and industrial areas, as high pressures “prevent the spread of environmentally harmful particles and gases from their original sources.”
This is the weather forecast, day by day:
First of all, this weekend “there will already be fog banks on the northern plateau, which may be persistent, and the wind, which is blowing strongly these days, will ease in the northeast, but will still be strong in the northeast Strait”. Temperatures “will fall and there will be frost at dawn and early morning in the interior of the peninsula, especially in the north, center and east.” Where there will be persistent fog, expected to cover much of the central area of Castile and León and will occur in the Ebro Valley, the environment “will be very cold throughout the day.” Zamora and Valladolid cannot exceed 6° or 7°, while on the Mediterranean coasts 17° to 19° can be reached.
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Almost a record anticyclone for the month of December due to its strength over the weekend. The forecast says reduced pressure at sea level will reach 1040 hPa on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/TiHi6zWJGJ
– AEMET_C. Valencian (@AEMET_CValencia) December 15, 2023
Monday and Tuesday will be “similar days, with anticyclonic weather and temperatures generally without major changes in the west of the peninsula and an increase in the east and the Balearic Islands.” In the interior of the peninsula, particularly in the north, east and center, will it will continue to freeze and morning fog banks may form again on the northern plateau and will be persistent. On Tuesday the thermometers in Valencia, Castellón, Barcelona and Murcia show 20° or more, while in Palencia, Zamora and Valladolid they do not exceed 5° during the day and can drop to -3° or -5° in the early morning.
On Wednesday and Thursday the outlook improves somewhat as “some Atlantic fronts could touch the north of the peninsula, which could leave cloudy skies and precipitation in the far north of the peninsula, which will be in the form of snow in the Pyrenees.” The heaviest Rainfall is expected in the eastern Cantabrian Sea, northern Navarre and the Aragonese Pyrenees.
Frost will continue to occur in the north and east and in the Mediterranean the mild environment will remain at 20°C. There are no changes in sight for Christmas Eve and Christmas either. “This overall stable weather with partly cloudy skies and morning fog in areas of the northern third is likely to continue until next weekend,” emphasizes the Aemet spokesman.
This weekend in the Canary Islands is expected to be characterized by haze and gusts of wind of strong or locally very strong intensity. And no trace of water. “The situation will continue for the first few days of next week, although there may be some drizzle in the north of the main islands from Wednesday, with temperatures ranging between 16° and 18° at night and 21° to 23° during the day in coastal areas,” concludes the Del Campo forecast.