Spain: How cold can it get?

The very mention of Spain brings thoughts of sunshine and warmth, but past statistics also reveal some unbelievably cold winters that put the UK to shame.

The world’s focus is currently on global warming, with 2023 being officially the hottest on record, hence it’s easy to forget the other extremes of temperature that Spain has endured.

Nearly 70 years ago a record-breaking cold spell transformed the lakes of Buda in Tarragona into icy expanses. Fishermen were reported gathering dead fish from the frozen surface, with an estimated 8,000 kilos collected, as reported by the Efe agency on February 4, 1956.

The ‘Siberian’ of 1956

This extreme weather event, known as ‘The Siberian’, was part of a cold wave that lasted nearly 20 days. It marked the most severe cold spell Spain had experienced since the late 19th century when meteorological records began.

Temperatures plummeted to below minus 35°C which at the time set a new record for the country’s coldest recorded temperature.

Jose Antonio Lopez from the National Institute of Meteorology described February 1956 as ‘the coldest month in the recent history of Spain and especially in the Mediterranean’. The country endured over three weeks of sub-zero temperatures.

Impact across Spain

This frigid air mass had affected every part of Spain. Roads became impassable, and air and sea travel were severely disrupted. The coastline bore the brunt of the Siberian storm, with sea water freezing on the rocks and reefs of the Costa Brava.

The Estanygent Lake in Lleida recorded a chilling -32°C. Cities like San Sebastian, Girona, and Barcelona saw temperatures plummet to -12.1°C, -10.5°C, and -6.7°C respectively.

The cold was even more intense in inland areas like Pamplona and Vitoria, with temperatures dropping to -15.2°C and -16.8°C. Even Almeria dropped to an incredible -1.2°C.

2021: A new record

In 2021, a year defined by the meteorological phenomenon ‘Filomena‘, unprecedented snowfall and even colder temperatures were recorded.

The Pyrenees of Lleida and the Leonese side of the Cantabrian mountain range saw lows of -30°C and -35.6°C respectively.

However, as Meteored explained, these weather stations were relatively new and lacked extensive historical data, making direct comparisons with the 1956 winter difficult.

Spain’s coldest town

Molina de Aragon, part of Guadalajara and known as one of the vertices of the ‘Cold Triangle’, had a reputation for cold temperatures.

On January 28, 1952, it recorded -28.2ºC. This town, alongside Teruel and Calamocha, regularly experienced severe winters. Although Calamocha held the record for Spain’s lowest temperature at -30°C , recorded on December 17, 1963.

UK records

According to data from the Met Office, the UK’s lowest temp of -27.2°C was Braemar, Aberdeenshire on January 10,  1982. England’s lowest was -26.1°C also on January 10, 1982 Newport, Shropshire.

‘Temperatures below -20°C are most common at stations in East Scotland followed by North Scotland and the Midlands in England,’ concluded the Met office.