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A trough will bring cold, heavy rain and snow to Barcelona this weekend
Barcelona is preparing for a night of abrupt changes. A deep trough arrives on 13 March. Rain, cold and snow at low elevations are expected. Saturday will be particularly unpleasant. On Sunday, the weather will take a radical turn.
From the night of 13 March, a deep trough will cross Barcelona and its metropolitan area, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures (8–10 °C lower), widespread rain (10–15 l/m²) and an unexpectedly wintry atmosphere for mid-March. Saturday highs will barely reach 10–12 °C, well below usual levels. This episode follows a rainy winter that filled Catalonia's reservoirs almost to their limits: on 7 March, Susqueda exceeded 102%, La Llosa del Cavall and Foix reached 101%, and El Pasteral reached 130%. Since then, levels have fallen because of consumption and preventive releases ahead of further rain and the spring thaw.
The snowline could fall to 600 m in the metropolitan area and 400 m in the north of the province. In Montseny (Turó de l’Home), more than 10 cm is expected, with wind making it feel as cold as -13 °C; Montserrat and areas such as Sant Llorenç del Munt or La Mola could wake up white with light snowflakes.
Sunday will change radically: clear skies, temperatures of up to 16 °C and a return to spring conditions for resuming outdoor plans.
The passage of this trough is a notable weather event for Barcelona: it will disrupt the daily routine of thousands of residents, test mobility and urban adaptation, and attract media attention because of the rarity of snow at such low altitudes in the middle of March.