Catalonia will foreseeably experience the largest episode of snowfall and widespread rain since the drought emergency was declared on February 1 in the Ter-Llobregat system, which supplies Girona, Barcelona and its entire metropolitan area.
The Meteorological Service of Catalonia has activated the yellow (moderate) and red (high) warning in most of the Pyrenean and pre-Pyrenean regions due to snowfall that will be activated from Friday night and will extend throughout Saturday.
The reason is the arrival of successive Atlantic storms and cold air masses that will widely water a thirsty territory that is increasingly in need of water.
Meteocat warns this Thursday that rainfall will be “moderately important, especially in the pre-Pyrenees and the Pyrenees.
Especially in the southern third, where snowfall will be important.”
Saturday will be the most complicated day on mountain roads in practically all Catalan regions.
Early in the morning, Meteocat maintains the red warning for snow in the regions of Vall de Aràn, Alta Ribagorça, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, and the yellow warning in Alt Urgell, La Cerdanya, Berguedà, Ripollès, Solsonès, Bages and Noguera.
Meteocat anticipates that both warnings will be activated throughout Saturday.
In parallel, the rains will extend to practically the entire Catalan territory, including Barcelona, with accumulated rain that may vary from 10 to 40 liters per square meter, according to the GFS meteorological model, updated every 12 hours, and which takes days pointing to generous accumulations of snow of more than 30 centimeters on the southern side of the Pyrenees.
For Sunday, a progressive atmospheric stabilization is expected.
In some points, explains meteorologist Jordi Toda in his forecast published in Meteocat, “the accumulated could exceed 50 liters or 60 liters per square meter.”
The positive note is that some of the highest accumulations are predicted precisely at the headwaters of the Ter and Llobregat rivers, as well as at different points in their hydrographic basins.
They are the main rivers of the internal basins of Catalonia and those that supply the main reservoirs, such as Sau or Susqueda.
The Catalan Water Agency has insisted for months that the rains to recover the reserves of the reservoirs (today at a meager 15% on average) have to be “across the entire map and constant, for several hours, to accumulate liters in a constant manner.” "persistent change from filled land to rivers and reservoirs."
In their internal calculations, they estimate that about 300 liters per square meter would be necessary for a month “in general”.
Especially in the Pyrenees and eastern pre-Pyrenees, the most affected by the drought.
Despite the expected rain this weekend, Government spokesperson Patricia Plaja explained at a press conference this Thursday that “the situation is getting worse with each passing day.
The weather forecasts are not optimistic,” she stated at the press conference after the Interdepartmental Drought Commission.
To begin to overcome the worst water crisis that the community is experiencing since records exist, the ACA insists, continuous episodes of this caliber should be repeated continuously.
Good forecasts for skiing
The rainfall expected this weekend will not solve the drought, but it will have a very positive effect for a sector, the ski sector, which began a season with some resorts using snow sprinklers to keep the slopes minimally skiable.
The general director of Tourism of the Generalitat, Marta Domènech, predicted this Thursday that the Pyrenees will reach occupancy levels of up to 90% on the second weekend of Easter, when the season usually ends.
Asked about the impact of the drought, Domènech maintained that “nothing is being noticed in this regard.
In principle, the situation is guaranteed, as of today,” she said in statements collected by the Efe agency.