Expats and holidaymakers in Malaga province are shocked to see the sun-kissed southern region has an unusual symbol on the weather map of Spain – a snowflake!
The new year is getting off to an icy cold and windy start in Scotland, with the northern half of the country warned to expect deep snow and even blizzard conditions over the weekend.
But anyone deciding to flee to southern Spain to escape the weather might be in for a shock – the country’s national weather agency has issued a snow warning for the Costa del Sol next week.
According to the forecast from Aemet, snow could fall at 200-300 metres of altitude in Malaga province on January 6 and 7. The probability of precipitation on those days is 65% and 55%, respectively.
And the forecast temperatures will be the coldest of the winter so far: a maximum of 11C and a minimum of 5C, which means that it might not be cold enough for any snowflakes to actually settle.
READ MORE: Scotland to be battered by the ‘Troll from Trondheim’ as snow forecast for entire country
The Malaga Sur website said snow was a possibility in foothills of Los Montes de Málaga, not far from the city centre, as well as in Sierra Blanca (Marbella) and in Sierra Tejeda and Almijara (the Axarquia district).
It described the prediction as a “surprise”, given that the last time snow actually fell in Malaga city was in January 1954. However, it snowed in Nerja, Motril, Calahonda, Almuñécar, Almerimar and Melilla some 20 years ago, in January 2005.
Malaga meteorologist José Luis Escudero said the Aemet prediction could still change in the coming days. “It is not clear whether the mass of arctic air coming to the country will reach the province,” he said.
However, snow on the beaches of Spain is not THAT unusual in January – especially further north, away from the Costa del Sol (which is just a few dozen miles from Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar).
It frequently snows in winter San Sebastian in the Basque Country of northern Spain and in late February 2023 Storm Juliette left Barcelona and many seaside towns in Catalonia blanketed in snow.
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