The weather of the first half of the Christmas holidays will be characterized by the approach of an Atlantic anticyclone towards Spain, which will leave sun or fog during the day and frost in areas of the interior of the peninsula. Only some minor rain is expected in the extreme north of the peninsula, according to the forecast of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Before, the Atlantic front that affects us from this Wednesday will leave cloudy or overcast skies today in the northern third, environments of the Central and Iberian systems and east of the Northern plateau. In addition, it will rain in the Cantabrian area and the Pyrenees, without ruling out rain in neighboring areas to the south and in the north of Galicia. They will be even more abundant in the eastern Cantabrian and western Pyrenees.
In the rest of the country the sun will shine and temperatures will rise. "It will be close to 20 degrees on the shores of the Mediterranean and we will have to take into account intense gusts of wind from the north in coastal areas, the northeast of the peninsula and in the Balearic Islands," explains the agency's spokesperson, Rubén del Campo.
On Friday, the day of the Extraordinary Christmas Lottery Draw, rain is only expected in parts of the Cantabrian Sea and the Pyrenees, more abundant and persistent in Guipúzcoa and the north of Navarra, with snow above 1,500 meters. In the rest of Spain, clear skies, although with abundant morning fogs in the valleys of the large rivers and the Northern Plateau.
This weekend will pass without major meteorological shocks, thanks to the powerful anticyclone. There will be very stable weather and no rain in practically any part of the country, except for some isolated precipitation on Saturday in parts of the eastern Cantabrian Sea.
For Christmas Eve, it is unlikely that a front will end up leaving rain in the extreme north of the peninsula on Sunday, but it would not be significant. Next Monday, Christmas Day, the influence of high pressures will continue over Spain, with no rain, fog banks in the interior and temperatures without major changes.
As for temperatures, there will not be big changes. “We will have night frosts in the north, also in the central zone and in the eastern interior of the peninsula, and a very cold atmosphere throughout the day in those areas where the fog persists. We will find the warmest environment again on the shores of the Mediterranean, where maximum temperatures will be around 18 to 20 degrees,” summarized Del Campo.
The maximum temperatures will probably tend to decrease across the Peninsula on Saturday the 23rd and rise in the northern half on Sunday the 24th, with no significant changes expected in subsequent days. Regarding the minimum temperatures, the Aemet expects generalized decreases on both Saturday and Sunday, expanding the areas with frost.
