International press is awash with news on how Spain is coping with the snow and cold, so as a local-news source, is there any point in covering it?

Seeing as hits on our site have quadrupled in the last two days, however, plenty of people are still searching for news on the weather in our province.

I recently spent a weekend in Pitres because if you want to experience winter on the Costa Tropical, you have to travel inland, and above all, uphill to the mountains.

Concerned readers who have friends or family on the Costa Tropical need not worry about them weather wise. You can see the snow from Motril, Salobreña and Almuñécar, in the distance, on the mountains but down here the temperatures remain, as always, above zero even at night.

If you have friends in the Altiplano, which for argument’s sake we will include Guadix and everything to the north-east of it in the province, then that is a different matter. That’s where there was snow and roads closed to traffic.

In Baza, for example, this week daytime maximums vary between 7ºC to 11ºC and the night-time minimums between minus 2ºC and minus 4ºC. During the day there will be clear skies which means… sunshine! Next week will bring more snow starting Wednesday.

Further up in Castril at the foot of a mountain range that bears its name, it will be a bit chillier, especially tomorrow when temperatures move between 6ºC and minus 6ºC but no snow this week. Again, plenty of sunshine until next week when snow will reappear.

As far as the Alpujarra goes, let’s take Pampaneira, which is about half way up in altitude to get an average: temperatures between maximums of 9ºC and 4ºC during the day and minimums between minus 2ºC and minus 4ºc. No snow and sunny during the day. No snow next week and temperatures a little warmer.

Next, let’s take Loja in the Poniente of Granada (west): Sunny all week, daytime maximums between 8ºC and 12ºC and night minimums of 1ºC to minus 1ºC. Next week, slightly warmer by a couple of degrees and no snow.

What about the Valle de Lecrín? Let’s take Padul, known to get chilly! Sunny weather ahead! Daytime maximums between 7ºC and 10ºC and night lows between 0ºC and minus 3ºC. Next week it won’t go below zero and daytime temperatures will be a few degrees warmer. No snow but a touch of rain.

Now for central Granada so we’ll take Cúllar Vega – the city itself is always a bit warmer than the surrounding towns: Daytime highs between 7ºC and 11ºC and night-time lows of between minus 3ºC and zero degrees and sunshine during the day. Next week will be a couple of degrees warmer, bringing night-time temperatures above zero. Partial cloud and a spot of rain.

Well, that’s the weather forecast for Granada but remember that forecasts over three days are not that reliable so next week’s data should be taken with a pinch of salt… on the roads.

(News: Granada, Andalucia)