Spain Faces Coldest Christmas Season in 15 Years Amid Nordic Anticyclone

Spain is experiencing its coldest Christmas period since 2010, driven by a Scandinavian anticyclone that has steered polar air masses into the peninsula and Balearic Islands. This cold weather event has brought temperatures down sharply after a relatively warm start to December, according to José Ángel Núñez, spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).

Beginning Christmas week, temperatures have dropped significantly, with forecasts indicating Christmas Day will be the coldest day of 2025. Daytime highs are expected to remain below 5°C in many interior regions, with nighttime temperatures plummeting to as low as -6°C to -8°C, leading to intense frost conditions. Although some media have referred to this event as "Siberian cold," experts clarify that the arriving air is of polar-continental origin and does not meet the strict meteorological criteria to be classified as "Siberian cold." Moreover, AEMET has stated that the temperature drop will not qualify as an official cold wave, as the significant drop in temperatures is expected to last just a couple of days, mainly Thursday and Friday.

Historically, the current cold spell is notable as the week from December 22 to 28 is considered the coldest Christmas week since 2010 and ranks as the 16th coldest in the past 76 years, measured against temperature averages from 1950 to 2024. The coldest Christmas on record occurred in 1962, when Madrid experienced temperatures below zero all day and cities such as Barcelona and Alicante faced considerable snowfall. Back then, the average temperature on December 25 was around -4°C.

Despite this frigid spell, climate data shows an overall warming trend, with Christmas temperatures increasing by about 2.1 degrees Celsius since 1950. This makes an event as severe as 1962 less likely in the future, with very cold Christmases becoming rarer.

Following the coldest days, some warming is forecast over the weekend; however, nights will remain cold with ongoing frosts. This notable cold snap during the holiday season underscores the impact of atmospheric patterns like the Scandinavian anticyclone in directing polar air masses towards Spain and shaping historic weather events.