Havana, February 21 (RHC-PL), -- Cuba reported the lowest temperature in the past 19 years, dawn Friday, when thermometers marked one degree Celsius (33.8 degree Fahrenheit) in the town of Union de Reyes, in western Matanzas province, Granma reported on Saturday.

That temperature is very close to the national absolute record of 0.6 degrees Celsius, established in Bainoa in February 1996, and equals the second lowest temperature in Cuba, reported in Bainoa in January 1971.

M.Sc. Armando Caymanares and expert Yiganis Cedeño, from the Forecast Center of the Meteorology Institute, told the newspaper that there were other reports of low temperatures in Cuba between 3.6 and 7.0 degrees Celsius.

Such a low temperature resulted from the influence of a mass of cold and very dry air of Antarctic origin, combined with clear skies, mainly in the interior and southern regions, from Matanzas (west) to Ciego de Avila (center).

In Havana, Thursday and Friday were the coldest days in the current winter season, as in addition to maximum temperatures of 17.8 and 18.1 degrees Celsius, respectively, there were strong north winds that with the windchill factor reduced the temperature to between 10 and 13 degrees Celsius, Caymanares told Granma.