TEMPERATURES of as low as -8ºC are expected to continue until at least Monday, and return again on Thursday after a brief respite mid-week.
Overnight, the mercury plunged to -5ºC in Madrid, -2ºC in Granada and, in what are normally the warmest parts of the mainland, as low as 1ºC. Córdoba, which reaches 50ºC in the shade in July and August, registered -1ºC on the thermometers this morning (Saturday) and is expected to see a repeat performance until Monday or Tuesday overnight.
The provinces of Valencia, Murcia and Alicante, which until recently were drenched in sunlight with midday temperatures rising to the mid-20s, are teetering on the edge of freezing this weekend with lows of 2ºC and 1ºC respectively.
Even Gijón (Asturias) in the far north, known for its Atlantic winds and exceptionally chilly winters, exceeded Mediterranean temperatures on Friday night and Saturday morning at 3ºC – the same as Sevilla in the far south, which again is known for its scorching summers with regular temperatures of 40-50ºC in the shade, and the region's other major city, Oviedo, plus Barcelona in the north-east of Spain, matched Murcia's and Valencia's readings of 2ºC.
Bilbao and Vigo, which also have some of the coldest winters and coolest summers on the mainland reached a comparatively 'warm' 5ºC, the same as Málaga on the south coast, whilst Zaragoza sat at 4ºC – again, higher than traditionally hotter areas of Spain such as the east and south-east.
A Coruña, surprisingly, was the warmest part of Spain on Friday night and Saturday morning – although the Galicia region's Atlantic winds and icy winter climates mean residents are frequently under extra blankets at times of the year when those in the south-east are still in T-shirts, its overnight temperatures are not expected to fall below 9ºC this week, warmer than many other regions in the daytime.
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