ClimavisoStorm Gloria: snow and wind in Comunitat Valenciana, Cataluña and elsewhere, 19–21 January 2020
19 January 2020 to 21 January 2020. Updated 26 October 2026.
AEMET named this storm Gloria on 17 January 2020.
Over 3 days, 57 of Spain's 182 warning zones had an orange or red warning for snow and wind: 97 zone-days at orange or red, 14 of them red. The day with the most zones at orange or red was 20 January, with 40 zones.
20 January was the day with the most people in zones under an orange or red warning: 14.9 million people live there (INE municipal register, 2025).
How it compares
- It is number 38 of 119 episodes since June 2018 by zone-days at orange or red.
- Among the 7 snow episodes, it is number 2.
- Until then, no snow episode in the archive had been this widespread.
Day by day
| Day | Red | Orange | Yellow | Orange or red warnings for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 19 January | 4 | 30 | 52 | wind, snow, rain |
| Mon 20 January | 8 | 32 | 64 | snow, wind, rain |
| Tue 21 January | 2 | 21 | 51 | rain, snow, wind |
Zones with a warning each day, at their highest level that day.
The zones
And 57 more zones with yellow warnings only.
What AEMET's stations measured
The most measured in the zones with an orange or red warning, on their warning days: a 130 km/h gust at Garganta la Olla (Norte de Cáceres) on 19 January; a low of -12.2 °C at Cerler, Cogulla (Pirineo oscense) on 19 January.
| Zone | Strongest gust | Lowest temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Norte de Cáceres | 130 km/h Garganta la Olla · 19 January | -4.9 °C Piornal · 20 January |
| Litoral sur de Valencia | 115 km/h Oliva · 20 January | 3.3 °C Barx · 20 January |
| Centro y valle de Villaverde | 112 km/h Alto Campoo · 19 January | -7.3 °C Alto Campoo · 20 January |
| Pirineo oscense | 108 km/h Torla - Ordesa · 19 January | -12.2 °C Cerler, Cogulla · 19 January |
| Litoral de Barcelona | 106 km/h Barcelona, Port Olímpic · 21 January | 3.8 °C Santa Susanna · 20 January |
| Sistema Central de Segovia | 105 km/h La Pinilla, Estación de Esquí · 20 January | -10.8 °C Puerto de Navacerrada · 20 January |
| Campo de Cartagena y Mazarrón | 104 km/h San Javier Aeropuerto · 20 January | 4.2 °C Fuente Álamo de Murcia · 20 January |
| Interior norte de Castellón | 104 km/h La Pobla de Benifassà-Fredes · 21 January | -4.3 °C Villafranca del Cid/vilafranca · 20 January |
| Sierra Tramontana | 101 km/h Sierra de Alfabia, Bunyola · 19 January | 3.0 °C Sierra de Alfabia, Bunyola · 19 January |
| Litoral norte de Valencia | 96 km/h Valencia Aeropuerto · 20 January | 3.7 °C Turís · 20 January |
| Litoral norte de Alicante | 94 km/h Jávea/ Xàbia · 20 January | 7.2 °C Pego · 20 January |
| Litoral sur de Alicante | 94 km/h Alicante-Elche Aeropuerto · 20 January | 4.6 °C Novelda · 19 January |
| Meseta de Burgos | 94 km/h Burgos Aeropuerto · 19 January | -4.3 °C Coruña del Conde · 20 January |
| Pirineo de Girona | 94 km/h Maçanet de Cabrenys · 19 January | -7.1 °C La Molina · 20 January |
| Ibérica de Burgos | 93 km/h Monterrubio de la Demanda · 19 January | -4.2 °C Monterrubio de la Demanda · 20 January |
| Depresión central de Tarragona | 91 km/h La Pobla de Massaluca · 21 January | -0.7 °C Horta de Sant Joan · 20 January |
| Prelitoral de Barcelona | 91 km/h Pontons · 21 January | 0.4 °C Fogars de Montclús · 20 January |
| Ibiza y Formentera | 90 km/h Formentera · 19 January | 5.3 °C Sant Joan de Labritja · 21 January |
| Levante mallorquín | 89 km/h Son Servera · 19 January | 8.6 °C Manacor · 20 January |
| Norte y nordeste de Mallorca | 89 km/h Sa Pobla · 19 January | 7.5 °C Artà · 19 January |
And 37 more zones with an orange or red warning.
For each zone, the highest value its AEMET stations measured on the episode's warning days (the lowest, for the low temperature), with the station and the day. Rain from 07:00 to 07:00 UTC; gust: the day's strongest. It is what the zone's stations measured, not every town, and a measurement, like a warning, is not damage.
How AEMET's warnings unfolded
The red warning reached 14 zone-days, and AEMET always issued it ahead of time (median: 24 h). The first warning of any level for those same days had come a median 36 h earlier.
| Zone | Day | First warning | Red issued | For · notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interior de Alicante | Sun 19 | Thu 16 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 11:39 | 12:00 · 24 h before |
| Interior sur de Valencia | Sun 19 | Thu 16 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 11:39 | 12:00 · 24 h before |
| Litoral norte de Alicante | Sun 19 | Thu 16 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 11:39 | 12:00 · 24 h before |
| Litoral sur de Valencia | Sun 19 | Thu 16 Jan, 23:50 yellow | 11:41 | 18:00 · 6 h before |
| Interior de Alicante | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 12:01 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Interior norte de Castellón | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 12:01 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Interior sur de Valencia | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 12:01 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Litoral norte de Alicante | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 12:01 | 00:00 · 36 h before |
| Altiplano de Murcia | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sat 18 Jan, 23:16 | 00:00 · 25 h before |
| Hellín y Almansa | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sun 19 Jan, 10:48 | 00:00 · 13 h before |
| Gúdar y Maestrazgo | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 yellow | Sun 19 Jan, 11:40 | 00:00 · 12 h before |
| Litoral sur de Valencia | Mon 20 | Fri 17 Jan, 23:50 orange | Sun 19 Jan, 11:41 | 00:00 · 12 h before |
| Gúdar y Maestrazgo | Tue 21 | Sat 18 Jan, 23:50 orange | Mon 20 Jan, 12:36 | 00:00 · 11 h before |
| Interior norte de Castellón | Tue 21 | Sat 18 Jan, 23:50 orange | Mon 20 Jan, 12:37 | 00:00 · 11 h before |
The full timeline: 193 changes at orange or red
Only the changes involving red are listed: there were 193 in all.
Sat 18 January
- Interior de Alicante, Interior sur de Valencia, Litoral norte de Alicante: Raises the snow warning to red: Sunday 19, 12:00–24:00. 20 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Interior de Alicante, Interior sur de Valencia, Litoral norte de Alicante: Raises the snow warning to red: Monday 20, 00:00–12:00. 20 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Interior norte de Castellón: Raises the snow warning to red: Monday 20, all day. 20 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Altiplano de Murcia: Raises the snow warning to red: Monday 20, 00:00–12:00. 20 cm of snow in 24 h.
Sun 19 January
- Hellín y Almansa: Raises the snow warning to red: Monday 20, 00:00–12:00. 20 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Gúdar y Maestrazgo: Raises the snow warning to red: Monday 20, all day. 40 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Litoral norte de Alicante, Litoral sur de Valencia: Raises the wind warning to red: Sunday 19, 18:00–24:00. Gusts up to 130 km/h.
- Litoral norte de Alicante, Litoral sur de Valencia: Raises the wind warning to red: Monday 20, 00:00–09:00. Gusts up to 130 km/h.
Mon 20 January
- Gúdar y Maestrazgo: Raises the snow warning to red: Tuesday 21, all day. 50 cm of snow in 24 h.
- Interior norte de Castellón: Raises the snow warning to red: Tuesday 21, 00:00–06:00. 50 cm of snow in 24 h.
AEMET's issue times, in mainland Spain time (Canary Islands in island time). Notice is the time from issue to the first hour the warning covered; a warning issued “for the current hour” runs from the hour it is published.
What this says and what it doesn't
A warning is an AEMET forecast, not a measurement or a damage report: it says a threshold is expected to be exceeded in a zone. A warning is not damage; a zone is not a building.
A zone-day is one warning zone with a warning on one day. Ten zones at orange on the same day make ten zone-days. A day with several warnings in one zone counts once, at its highest level.
Each zone has its own thresholds, so an orange heat warning in Asturias doesn't mean the same temperature as in Córdoba. More in how warnings work.
To cite: “Climaviso, from AEMET warnings”.
Source: official AEMET warnings, collected by Climaviso since June 2018.
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