The “apocalypse” of snow and cold that awaited us for Reyes is going to be much less so
The Three Wise Men, in addition to bringing us gifts (or some coal) have also brought the arrival of winter in Spain for the first time this year. Storm Francis has turned the first Monday of the year into a logistical and meteorological challenge for many, with white prints in inland capitals, and plummeting temperatures to values that we have not seen for months. And the truth is that there are still some hours of great instability. A white map. The images we are seeing this Monday are undoubtedly impressive with Madrid capital with snow, snow plows on the main roads of the country like the A4 or the A6 and also with the cathedral of Segovia covered in a layer of white. Something that It is also accompanied by significant rainfall in the south of Spain.mainly affecting the province of Malaga, which activated yesterday a red alert. If we focus on the snow, during the last hours accumulations of up to 10 cm have been recorded in 24 hours in the Central System environment. Something that is accompanied by snowfall in other places that are common and are located at a high altitude. Less than expected. In the previous days, it was expected that these snowfalls would be much more intense, equating it in many cases with a Filomena 2.0. But in the end it has remained in more localized snowfalls at high levels and at the lower levels they have not been as relevant as what was reported in previous days. The same thing happened in previous days, where a New Year’s Eve covered in white was expected but in the end it did not happen. It is not a model of models. This meteorological change can be attributed to the fact that the prediction models are useless, but the reality is that they work quite well, as explains an AEMET researcher in X. The problem is that the use we give to these models is not the most appropriate, since all the catastrophic news of significant snowfalls come out within several days, and the reality is that the uncertainty here is very high. To have real data on what may happen in our country, we have to wait until we are closer to the specific date to have a prediction that is close to the reality that we are going to experience. Impact on mobility. In this way, if we look at the rainfall that has fallen on the roads, we find complications when traveling, or even impossible being cut, especially in Andalusia. But also effects on the railways, suffering interruptions, for example the line between Cercedilla and Segovia due to the accumulation of snow on the tracks. Some cold rides. With these meteorological events, all eyes are on what will happen with the traditional parades of the Three Wise Men that take place in different parts of Spain throughout the afternoon of this January 5th. In some locations already have had to be canceled due to the risk of precipitationand in other places they have been brought forward to this Monday morning, as has happened in the capital of Granada. What the AEMET points out is that the course of the parades will be marked by a significant drop in temperatures. They emphasize especially the northern, central and eastern areas of the peninsula, where temperatures below zero are expected at 8:00 p.m. And even in the areas of the Cantabrian Sea and the southeast of the peninsula they could be covered in snow or water. The forecast on January 6. For those who want to enjoy the holiday, on Three Kings’ Day, Storm Francis will tend to weaken. This will make them wait residual snowfall centered on the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and northern mountain areasbut the intensity on the Plateau will decrease drastically. But the important thing is that even if the snow stops falling, the cold doesn’t go away. Temperatures will remain below normal, meaning the risk of extreme nighttime frosts will remain, turning accumulated snow to ice. This will mean that caution must prevail when traveling by road, especially in the early hours of the morning. Why now. Storm Francis is not an isolated phenomenon, but the result of a channeling cold arctic air over the Peninsula. While a more conventional trade wind regime dominates in the Canary Islands, the interior of the peninsula is trapped in a pocket of cold air that interacts with Mediterranean humidity. This explains why, in addition to the snow in the interior of the peninsula, we are seeing intense rains in the area of Alborán and eastern Andalusia, where the snow level is higher, but the volume of water is being very significant, as we have commented previously. In Xataka | The “tropicalization” of the atmosphere is going to change Spain and not exactly for the better
