Spain set for big freeze: sub-zero temperatures and 'heaviest snowfall in years'

Much of Spain will experience sub-zero temperatures this week and some of the "heaviest snowfall in recent years", with even Madrid and Barcelona expected to be turned into winter wonderlands.

This year's Three Kings' Day celebrations will be truly out of the ordinary. Firstly, due to the fact that many of the usual Reyes celebrations have been cancelled as part of Covid-19 restrictions, and secondly because much of the country is set to experience some unusually cold weather even for this time of year.

Temperatures already starting dropping across the mainland on Tuesday but it's on Wednesday January 6 when the cold snap truly starts.

Spain's national weather agency AEMET have dubbed it 'Storm Filomena', a weeklong weather phenomenon which will see temperatures drop to -10 C in northern and central Spain and heavy snow fall at abnormally low altitudes of as little as 200 metres.

From Wednesday, maximum temperatures in much of Spain's interior won't go above 5C.

Even Spain's two biggest cities Madrid and Barcelona, which are not famed for getting much snow, are expected to be turned white on Tuesday night and Thursday respectively.

The Spanish capital could get 10 to 15 cm of snow, something which hasn't been seen since January 2009.

Other regions that are expected to get snow include Castilla y León, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarra, Aragón, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia and some parts of eastern Andalusia. Some of these have already been turned into winter wonderlands, but by Thursday areas at lower altitudes will also be snow-capped.

"We're facing one of the longest and biggest snowfalls in Spain in recent years," AEMET spokesperson Rubén de Campo said about the weeklong polar snap.

Weather website El Tiempo has also referred to the snowfall that will cover much of Spain as "historic", adding that the majority of the country will be under snow by Thursday, up to 20cm in large parts of the country's interior.