Madrid enters the final stretch of December with the cold as the absolute protagonist. From December 24, the capital and much of the Community will be under the influence of a mass of very cold air that will set the pace of Christmas. Forecasts point to widespread frost, contained maximums and the possibility of weak snowfall in high areas, especially in the mountains.
According to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the slight thermal respite prior to Christmas Eve will be brief. On the 25th a new drop in temperatures is expected, which will place Madrid among the coldest capitals in the country, with values that will hardly exceed 5 degrees and minimum temperatures close to or even below zero.
Cold Christmas Eve and an equally cold Christmas Day in the capital.
Christmas Eve will arrive in Madrid with a stable, but clearly wintry atmosphere. Skies will remain variable and maximum temperatures will hover around 8 or 9 degrees, while at night the thermometer will drop rapidly. It will not be a particularly rainy night, but it will be one of the coldest so far this month, especially in open areas and suburbs.
Christmas Day will mark the low point of the episode. The definitive entry of cold air will cause a thermal collapse that will leave persistent frosts during the early morning and early hours of the morning. In the city of Madrid, the maximum temperatures will move between 4 and 6 degrees, while in municipalities in the north and west of the region are expected even lower records. In the Sierra de Guadarrama, the snow level could be between 500 and 700 meters, with weak but continuous snowfall at high altitudes.
A cold reminiscent of other historic Christmases
Although this episode does not reach the magnitude of great storms of the past, such as the one that preceded Filomena, it does rank among the coldest Christmas starts in recent years. Meteorologists stress that such situations are becoming less frequent, but not exceptional, and that Madrid remains particularly vulnerable to the inrush of cold continental air.