Andorra's Wettest Winter Since 1997 with Record Snow and Storms

Andorra has experienced its wettest winter since 1997, with precipitation reaching 220% of the climatic average. The National Meteorological Service and Climate Action summary describe the season as slightly warm, with an average temperature of 4.4°C, an anomaly of +0.8°C, and 32 frost days.

Thirteen storms passed through from 5 December (Davide) to 17 February (Pedro), triggering 13 alerts: orange warnings for Goretti (6 January), Nils (10 February), and Oriana (11 February), and yellow for the others. These storms were flanked by anticyclonic periods, including warm spells from 5-18 December and 17-28 February, with morning thermal inversions and anomalies over +5°C from 22-27 February.

Average precipitation at the FEDA central station totalled 290.9 mm across 46 rainy days, peaking at 370.2 mm in Bony de les Neres and bottoming at 201.2 mm in Borda Vidal. December saw normal levels, while January and February were exceptionally wet. Standout events included 46.6 mm in 24 hours at Perafita on 17 January, over 20 mm across multiple stations on 27 January, and notable falls (15-20 mm) on 15 December, 2, 5, 10, and 13 February.

Snow cover was significant despite wind redistribution, keeping avalanche risk generally high. The maximum depth hit 103 cm at Ransol on 26 January, the highest since December 2021 and well above the 90th percentile in late January and early February, though below historical peaks like 185 cm in February 1972 or 160 cm in January 2003. Continuous snow at Ransol began on 21 November and lasted 99 uninterrupted days—the longest since winter 2001-2002, when it started 9 November 2001 and melted 23 March 2002. Widespread snow arrived before Christmas, maintaining a winter landscape through January's cool conditions.

This is Andorra's eighth consecutive warm winter since 2016, with 11 warm, five normal, and four cold out of the last 20. The season's high was 20.5°C at Borda Vidal (873 m) on 26 February; the low was -17.8°C at Fonts d’Arinsal (2,681 m) on 23 December. The strongest gust reached 172 km/h at Fonts d’Arinsal on 20 February, with other peaks including 144 km/h on 9-10 January and 100 km/h on 15 December.

December was moderately warm, January slightly cold, and February the warmest month.