Starting from today, March 18^th, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) is predicting an abrupt change in the weather across much of the peninsula, as well as the Balearic Islands.

The agency says that there could be a drop in temperatures, particularly in the northern half of the country, by up to 10°C and that some places could see snow of up to 500 metres.

Rubén del Campo, spokesman for Aemet explained that it is currently not possible to tell which exact areas will be affected the worst but “what seems clear is that there will not be another Filomena,” he said, referring to Storm Filomena, which brought record snowfall to much of Spain in January.

#Predicción de #temperaturas máximas y mínimas para #hoy y sus variaciones (2/2). https://t.co/nkt7p7WaxU pic.twitter.com/6kjtqVQEkr

— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) March 18, 2021

North winds have been arriving in from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Sea, bringing with them clouds and drizzle down into the Peninsula.

Rain is expected over the next few days on the costs of Catalonia, in the Valencian Community and across the Balearic Islands, while there will even be snowfall in parts of the Pyrenees that lie above 700 metres.

From today, March 18^th, a cold air mass will also arrive from the European continent accompanied by stormy weather. Del Campo explains that this is unusual because most weather patterns move in the opposite direction – from the Atlantic towards the European continent. “This means the uncertainty is higher than usual”, he says.

Showers, accompanied by storms are expected across Catalonia, Valencia and Alicante regions in the next few days and by Saturday, March 20th, the weather front will be over the Balearic Islands. This will produce windy conditions across the islands with low night time temperatures.