From one extreme to the other. Madrid’s autumn has been suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a cold wave, with minimum temperatures that in some parts of the Community will reach 2 ° C, as confirmed by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The capital and many municipalities will experience from this week a very sharp drop in temperature, anticipating full winter sensations at the end of October.
This episode of polar air leaves, after the last rains, clear skies and cold nights where the minimums plummet below 6 ° C in Madrid city and reach 2-3 ° C in mountain towns like Rascafría, La Cabrera, Navacerrada or around the northern mountains. Municipalities in the south and the Henares corridor will see thermometers approaching 3-4 °C, and in the northeast of the region even lower values are expected, below 5 °C in the early hours of Wednesday. The wind chill is expected to be even lower due to the northwesterly wind, which will pick up in the early hours of the day.
How long will the cold snap last?
According to weather models, the plunge in minimum temperatures will continue for a couple of days, although new rains are expected in the middle of the week that could slightly dampen the frosts in the capital, but not in the mountains. Highs will not recover either, remaining around 16-18 °C in Madrid city and below 10 °C in northern highlands.
The sequence of atypical heat first, then persistent rains and now cold highlights the marked climate variability affecting the region, with increasingly extreme records. Canal de Isabel II recalls the importance of these low temperatures to avoid water losses by evaporation and for the natural cycle of rivers and reservoirs, but insists on monitoring consumption after a particularly dry summer.