MADRID – Anyone visiting Spain this coming week will be in luck: it will feel like spring in much of the country, especially along the Mediterranean coast. Plenty of sunshine and very pleasant temperatures…
Again a drastic change in the weather is planned for the country this week. Due to a powerful high-pressure area and atmospheric stability, record temperatures may follow for this time of year. The meteorological conditions result in significantly higher temperatures that are more typical of spring than of January.
Próxima semana: bloqueo anticiclónico que impedirá la entrada de borrascas atlánticas.
📌 Temperaturas notablemente por encima de lo normal, más propias del mes de marzo.
📌 Nieblas matinales en el interior peninsular.
📌 Sin lluvias, salvo el lunes en el extremo norte peninsular pic.twitter.com/htzH7Qe6WM— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) January 21, 2024
Thursday possible maximums of 26ºC in Murcia
Temperatures are expected to reach their peak on Thursday. In many parts of the country, the mercury reaches values of more than 20ºC. Temperatures can even reach 26ºC in the southeast of Spain, such as in the Murcia region and the Costa Cálida. This would represent an anomaly of between 10ºC and 12ºC above normal levels for this time of year.
Spring warmth due to powerful high-pressure area
After a week marked by storms Hipólito, Irene, and Juan that brought rain, strong winds and snow, stability is returning to Spain. The fronts disappear from the meteorological scene and make way for calm and a temperature increase. The formation of an atmospheric ridge in the middle and upper atmosphere, combined with a powerful high-pressure area at the Earth’s surface, will lead to a period of high and unusual temperatures for this time of year. It is expected that several records will be broken again. Consider maximum temperatures that may exceed 25ºC in some regions.
Where does it get the hottest?
The rise in temperatures will continue until Thursday or Friday depending on the region, with Thursday likely to be the warmest day of the week. In many parts of the north, south, and eastern interior of the peninsula, maximum temperatures can be 8ºC to 12ºC above average.
In areas such as the eastern interior of Andalusia, Murcia, Teruel, Castellón, and the Pyrenees, temperatures can be up to 12ºC above normal. For example, in Seville, temperatures of up to 24ºC are expected, while in Murcia it can even reach 26ºC.
No nighttime cold or frost
The minimums will also rise this week and are expected to remain stable in the following days. In most of the country, the minimum temperatures will be below 10ºC. This means that no frost is expected, except in the higher areas of the Pyrenees. In the Canary Islands, the minimum temperatures will be between 15ºC and 16ºC.
How long will this unusual warmth last?
The meteorological models indicate that temperatures will remain above normal for this time of year at least until the end of January or even until mid-February. However, deviations will be more pronounced this week than later in the period that meteorologists can now oversee. Temperatures are expected to drop slightly early next week, but will remain above usual levels.
Also read: December brings new record in Spain with almost 30 degrees
It is not the first time this winter that temperatures have been unusually high. In December the heat record was broken with a temperature of almost 30 degrees Celsius in the province of Malaga.
