The temperatures They are rising throughout Spain and that is being noticed throughout the country. And without reaching the record highs that are being experienced in the Canary Islands, we are not finding temperatures of up to 25 degrees in areas of the southeast, 20 degrees in the Cantabrian Sea and more than 15 in the interior of the plateau.

Today, Wednesday, in fact, the frosts have disappeared from the weather maps and we could only find them in very specific areas of the interior and the highest mountain ranges. A December classic is back: Christmas in short sleeves.

Of course, you don’t have to trust yourself.

Goodbye to ‘White Christmas’? Indeed, at a general level there will not be nine in Spain this Christmas. But this cannot be said to be anything new either. Except in the mountain systems and in some specific areas of the northern zone, the usual thing at this time of year is the “winter calm”. That is, an icy stability that is interrupted by the passage of fronts coming from the west.

This, as Samuel Bierner points outdoes not mean that white is completely absent. Of course, if white accompanies us this month it will be thanks to the frost and fog.

And why does it surprise us? It’s a good question. At a general level, we are talking about a very established topic. And it is curious because, in addition, the last Decembers have been very warm. As we remembered this week, December 2021 closed with temperatures of up to 25 degrees in places such as the Bilbao airport and we spent Christmas 2022 almost in short sleeves with “values ​​within the 95% percentile: that is, temperatures could occur in the range of the 5% highest temperatures on record for the date.

To that we can add December 2023 with temperatures of 28.8 degrees in Malaga, 27.7 in Murcia and 27.5 in Valencia; and, of course, the predictions for this year of more than 23 degrees in Alicante, Murcia or Valencia (and more than 20 in the Cantabrian Sea).

And why shouldn’t we trust ourselves? Because on Thursday a cold front will begin to enter the north of the Peninsula and that will quickly affect the temperatures. For Saturday or Sunday (just when this year’s Operation Exit will begin), the frost they will have gained ground and intensity throughout the interior area.

Stability, stability and stability. Beyond all that, the models show a very clear trend: high pressures. That means “stable weather, frost in the interior and mountainous areas, and locally persistent fogs.”

A warmer Christmas than it used to be, but (generally speaking) more normal than we would like.

Image | ECMWF | Copernicus

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