Return of wintery weather to Spain

More bad weather across the whole of Spain has set in until at least the middle of next week, says the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

Weather warnings ranging from yellow to red have been issued for 22 provinces as a result of predicted rainfall, storms, snow, high winds and high tides.

Temperatures fell throughout the country over the weekend, with Granada and Murcia falling to between 2ºC and 7ºC at night. These low temperatures are likely to continue  until after Wednesday May 1, which is a public holiday in Spain.

Alicante and Valencia, traditionally among the warmest provinces in Spain, have seen day temperatures go down to 15ºC and lows of 8ºC or 9ºC, whilst further inland temperatures have dropped to between 2ºC and 4ºC.

Snow is expected at altitudes of 600 metres and above, particularly in the north of the mainland, and gale-force winds and downpours will continue to hit the coast.

Yellow alerts for snow, wind and rain have been issued in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, and for snow alone in Granada, Teruel, Murcia, Castellon, Albacete, Jaen, Cuenca, the region of Asturias, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Guadalajara and the region of Cantabria.

High tides mean that there are yellow alerts for Alicante, Murcia, Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Melilla and all of the Balearic Islands, and amber warnings in Valencia and Castellon.

Madrid has activated its regional weather emergency alert in case of snow blocking roads or extremely low temperatures.

This unseasonal weather is said to be due to a cold front sweeping across the mainland, with temperatures of between -25ºC and -30ºC and at 5,000 metres above sea-level, together with a humid east wind bringing heavy rain.