WEATHER – The weather has been quite changeable in some areas of Spain this week. On Wednesday, especially in the north and east of Spain, storms continue to be the main protagonists with showers, even hail, thunderstorms, and strong winds.
Showers cannot be ruled out in the centre of the country, for example in the Sierra de Madrid. On the weekend, on the other hand, temperatures at night make it increasingly difficult to sleep and will rise above 40ºC during the day in several provinces. According to weather institute Aemet, there is a chance that we will face the second heatwave of the year.
Today, Wednesday will be the most unstable day of the week. The storms will be intense from early in the morning, but especially in the afternoon, when hail can also form. The risk of this weather is especially high in the province of Teruel, in the areas of Gúdar, Maestrazgo, Albarracin, Jiloca, and Bajo Aragón, which receive an orange warning (significant risk). Locally, more than 30 litres of water per square metre can fall in one hour.
The rest of Aragon, as well as Cantabria, La Rioja, the Basque Country, Navarra, the provinces of Burgos, Palencia, Segovia and Soria, the mountains of Madrid, Cuenca, and Guadalajara, all of Catalonia, and Castellón and Valencia, will receive a yellow warning of significant rain and storms.
Scorching Temperatures
On the contrary, as of Thursday, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) expects the atmosphere to calm down as the DANA (high-level isolated depression) causing the storms will weaken.
High pressure will dominate and the air over Spain will be much warmer. As a result, the thermometers shoot up to 33ºC in Madrid, Tarragona and Almería; 34ºC in Ourense or Murcia; 37 C in Cáceres and Granada, and over 39 C in areas of Córdoba and Badajoz. In the Cantabrian and Canary Islands, it will still be around 25-30ºC.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the heat will spread and the mercury will reach values above 35ºC practically throughout Spain. In the southwest it gets to 44 C in Badajoz or Seville; 40ºC in Toledo and Cáceres; in the center of the country it will be about 38ºC in Madrid. In Zaragoza, and in Castilla y León or Galicia, the maximum will remain between 30 and 37ºC.
Heatwave in the Canary Islands?
In the Balearics, it will be between 32 and 36 ºC and in the Canary Islands, there is even a possible heat wave, which would be the first of the year there. It gets over 40ºC inland and south of Gran Canaria, about 37ºC in Tenerife or 36ºC in Fuerteventura.
The heat in the Canary Islands is also likely to be accompanied by the intrusion of Saharan dust, which will cause abundant haze this weekend, especially in the eastern islands.
Next week the heat will intensify in Spain
All indications are that the atmosphere will warm even more next week, and a storm west of the peninsula could help “warm up” the second heat wave. This heat wave is being propelled by scorching air from Africa en route to Spanish territory.
