Grandvalira-Canillo, Andorra

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6 Day Weather Forecast for 2160 m altitude, issued (local time): 6 pm 17 May 2008

	Days 0-3 Grandvalira-Canillo Weather Summary: Light rain (total 4.0mm) at first, then becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Mon morning. Freeze-thaw conditions (max 7°C on Tue morning, min -1°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light.									Days 4-6 Grandvalira-Canillo Weather Summary: Some drizzle, heaviest during Tue afternoon. Freeze-thaw conditions (max 9°C on Fri morning, min 0°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.
	Sat 17 after- noon	Sat 17 night	Sun 18 morn- ing	Sun 18 after- noon	Sun 18 night	Mon 19 morn- ing	Mon 19 after- noon	Mon 19 night	Tue 20 morn- ing	Tue 20 after- noon	Tue 20 night	Wed 21 morn- ing	Wed 21 after- noon	Wed 21 night	Thu 22 morn- ing	Thu 22 after- noon	Thu 22 night	Fri 23 morn- ing
Wind (km/h)
Summary	light rain	some clouds	clear	light rain	light snow	light snow	light snow	some clouds	some clouds	rain shwrs	some clouds	clear	some clouds	clear	some clouds	cloudy	some clouds	clear
Snow cm	-	-	-	-	2	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rain mm	1	-	-	2	1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Max °C	4	0	5	4	0	2	2	0	7	7	2	8	7	3	7	7	4	9
Min °C	3	-1	5	2	0	0	2	-1	3	4	1	6	5	0	7	5	1	9
WChill °C	1	-5	3	2	0	-3	2	-5	-1	0	-3	4	2	-3	5	3	-1	9
Freezing level (m)	2700	2500	2400	2600	2450	2300	2450	2550	2600	2750	2750	2700	2900	2900	2900	2950	3050	3000
Sunrise	-	-	5:28	-	-	5:26	-	-	5:26	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:24
Sunset	20:10	-	-	20:12	-	-	20:13	-	-	20:14	-	-	20:15	-	-	20:15	-	-

The above table gives the weather forecast for Grandvalira-Canillo at the specific elevation of 2160m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom stations of Grandvalira-Canillo. To access the weather forecasts for the other elevations, use the tab navigation above the table. For a wider view of the weather, check out the Weather Map of Andorra.

NOTE ABOUT FREEZING LEVELS AND TEMPERATURES
The freezing level that we forecast Grandvalira-Canillo is the  free air freezing level. (More specifically, it is the uppermost free air freezing level). This means that all of the air above this elevation is below freezing however it does not necessarily imply that all of the air below it is above freezing.  We provide this because it best describes the level where falling snow first starts to turn to rain. On average, snowflakes only stay frozen for about 100 metres (300 feet) below the free air freezing level. That's because air temperatures usually increase steadily as you descend - but not always.  For example, a temperature inversion describes a pool of cold air near the ground with a layer of warmer air above it. This is a common occurrence in winter when the wind is light. Such pools of dense cold air can vary from a few metres to several kilometres deep and can persist from hours to several weeks. In an inversion, it can be simultaneously below freezing in a mountain valley, and also at a nearby summit, yet above freezing at some elevation in between. Most visitors to the Alps are very familiar with this. Such conditions can allow snow to fall much more than the usual 100 metres below the top freezing level, even reaching the valley, just as long as snow did not pass through enough warm air to melt. Otherwise, freezing rain or re-frozen soft hail (there is even a German word for it - graupel) reaches the valley instead. Our forecasts allow for these possibilities which is why you may see forecasts of snowfall and frost at elevations far below the free-air freezing level, or valley temperatures that are lower than summit temperatures. You may even see forecasts of rain to fall even though it is just below freezing at the surface - that happens if our model predicts that there is a deep warm layer just above. None of these are as contradictory as they may seem at first.

All of our temperature forecasts for Grandvalira-Canillo are for the ground, not the air. These can be very different to free-air temperatures, especially at night. This can lead to what looks like a contradiction. Because the ground is such a good radiator of heat (especially on clear nights when there is a snow cover and the wind is light) surface temperatures often fall more than far below the free air temperatures - sometimes by more than 10 degrees. On such occasions, the snowpack freezes at elevations that are far below the free air freezing level. For example, in the European Alps, snow tends to freeze in valleys on still clear and still nights  even if the free air freezing level is above 3000m simply because snow is so efficient radiating its heat away. In reality there are two freezing levels; one just above the snow surface and another at 3000m with a layer of warmer temperatures in between where the snow may not freeze at all. In summary, the reason we provide surface temperatures isbecause these determine the condition of the snowpack.

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