The first flakes of snow They have been seen during the morning of this Sunday by the Collserola mountain range. An anomalous picture for the people of Barcelona and more typical of higher altitudes or historically colder climates. However, while in the city the rainfall did not go beyond the rain that has wet its streets, the snow has reared its head in the Tibidabo (512m) or in the Turó of the Coscollada (464m) this Sunday. And this has happened with unusually low temperatures for these dates of the year but which have not fallen below 0 degrees Celsius. How can it be that despite not reaching negative numbers, the snow has made an appearance?
As explained by the Meteorological Service of Catalonia Through his Twitter account, the combination of snow and temperatures above 0 degrees is possible. This occurs when, on the one hand, there is precipitation, but it falls in a very dry environment. Since the air through which they travel and fall is very dry, the snowflake sublimates. That is, it goes directly from solid (snow) to gaswithout passing through the state in between liquid. “To sublimate, the flake removes heat from itself, consequently it cools down and, therefore, cannot start the fusion process even if the ambient temperature is above 0°C”, they explain from the Meteocat.
Why does it have a fins i tot temperature higher than 5 ºC?
It is produced when there is precipitation and per sota of the isozero l’ambient és molt sec. As the air per on cau està molt dries the floc de neu sublimates.
— Meteocat (@meteocat) April 3, 2022
A meteorological phenomenon that has left postcard images in various parts of the Catalan territory, with snow at specific times of the day at 200 meters high, in Montseny, Garraf or in areas of Castelldefels, among others.