Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa, Andorra

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6 Day Weather Forecast for 2345 m altitude, issued (local time): 06 am 17 May 2008

	Days 0-3 Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa Weather Summary: A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Mon morning. Freeze-thaw conditions (max 4°C on Sun morning, min -3°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.									Days 4-6 Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa Weather Summary: Drizzle at first, then turning colder with dusting of snow on Tue afternoon . Freeze-thaw conditions (max 7°C on Thu morning, min -3°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light.
	Sat 17 morn- ing	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
Wind (km/h)
Summary	light snow	light snow	snow shwrs	clear	snow shwrs	light snow	light snow	light snow	light snow	light snow	light snow	snow shwrs	clear	some clouds	some clouds	clear	cloudy	some clouds
Snow cm	1	2	-	-	-	1	4	3	2	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rain mm	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Max °C	3	2	-1	4	3	-1	0	1	-1	4	4	0	6	5	2	7	6	3
Min °C	2	1	-1	2	1	-3	-1	-1	-2	3	2	-1	4	3	-1	6	4	-3
WChill °C	0	-2	-5	-1	1	-5	-6	-4	-5	1	-2	-5	1	-1	-5	4	2	-6
Freezing level (m)	2600	2700	2550	2350	2600	2450	2350	2450	2450	2500	2650	2600	2600	2800	2900	2900	3050	2950
Sunrise	5:28	-	-	5:26	-	-	5:26	-	-	5:26	-	-	5:24	-	-	5:24	-	-
Sunset	-	20:09	-	-	20:10	-	-	20:12	-	-	20:13	-	-	20:14	-	-	20:15	-

The above table gives the weather forecast for Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa at the specific elevation of 2345m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom stations of Grandvalira-Pas de la Casa. 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-Pas de la Casa 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-Pas de la Casa 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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