This Friday the atmosphere was again very suffocating, with many highs of 35°C to 40°C even in coastal areas, but with higher values in Ponent and the Ebro valley, such as 41.5°C in El Canós (Segarra), 41.3°C in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) or 41°C in Lleida and Alcarràs (Segrià) and Tàrrega (Urgell). They also brushed against 40°C on the Barcelona pre-littoral. Such extremely high temperatures will not be repeated this weekend, with thermometers dropping. We are coming from so high that the heat of full summer will continue, but it will be less intense and far from 40°C. All this with an increase in instability. Showers and storms will gain ground and intensity, mainly in the pre-littoral, inland and in the Pyrenees. But these showers could reach some coastal areas. No such extreme heat episode is foreseen in the medium term and by the end of next week the atmosphere will be much more bearable.

Attention this Friday because the torrid peak of this new episode of intense heat that is again affecting a large part of Western Europe will occur. Many regions - most of the country - are on orange or yellow alert for extreme temperatures. Towards the plain of Lleida or the Ebro valley, temperatures will reach or exceed 40°C, while in most of the country, between 35 and 40ºC will be recorded, with very marked sultriness near the sea. Suffocating day.

Heat waves are becoming increasingly common, and beyond meteorological alerts, these mercury spikes also test the capacity of our cities. "We are building buildings for a climate that no longer exists," asserts Pablo Martínez, architect and founder of the think tank Trescientosmil. He is one of the authors of the'Atlas of Heat Vulnerability, developed together with the earth sciences department of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - National Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS). This is a visual tool that collects up to 70 climate simulations to map out which cities in Spain will suffer more heat waves in the future, which will need more cooling measures, and which are less prepared to face them by 2050.

Still with the spectacular total solar eclipse of August 12th etched in our minds, many people are wondering if they will have the opportunity to live such an experience again. What we have just witnessed is one of the most anticipated astronomical phenomena of the last century in our country. But the good news is that this spectacle does not end here, as it is the first chapter of an exceptional sequence.

We leave behind a historic Wednesday at home due to the solar eclipse, which was total or slightly partial depending on the area of the country. Clear skies dominated most of the territory during the event and allowed us to enjoy this unique spectacle, although cloudy intervals were a nuisance, especially in parts of the Pyrenees, pre-Pyrenees, and nearby areas, such as the northeast. Once this exceptional event has passed, what weather awaits us in the coming days? Well, between Thursday and Friday, temperatures will hit their peak, and there will be a new torrid spell with suffocating conditions. But everything seems to indicate that it will be the grand finale of the worst part of the summer, as from the weekend the thermometers will begin to drop and instability will increase. Next week, the heat will be clearly more bearable and normalized for the second half of August.

The most anticipated day of this 2026 is here. Millions of people will enjoy this Wednesday evening the historic eclipse of the Sun, which will be total in the southern regions of Catalonia, in all of the Balearic Islands, and in a large part of the Valencian Country. A unique and exceptional phenomenon marked on the agenda for some time. Everything is ready to enjoy this spectacle, but only clouds could spoil it. And it is that in some regions, there will be concern until the last moment due to the presence of clouds that may interfere with seeing the sky clearly. It should be said, however, that in most of the territory the phenomenon can be seen without problems.

The weekend has been marked by calmer weather than in previous days, although instability continued to be the protagonist of the afternoon in some regions, especially on Saturday, when showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees, pre-Pyrenees and the regions of Ponent left, locally, more than 50 or 60 l/m² and wind gusts of 100 km/h.

Few times has an astronomical phenomenon concentrated so much popular expectation and scientific interest at the same time. The total solar eclipse next Wednesday, August 12, will not only be a milestone for millions of people who will have the opportunity to contemplate one of the most extraordinary spectacles that nature offers. It will also represent an exceptional opportunity to test instruments, validate scientific models, and obtain data that, under normal conditions, are simply impossible to achieve. Catalonia and the Peninsula will be the global epicenter of astronomy.

This Friday was calmer in most of the country, but strong afternoon storms were repeated again concentrated in parts of the Pyrenees, pre-Pyrenees -especially the eastern part- and the northeast, locally with hail or sleet. However, in some cases it rained more than on Thursday, and precipitation again reached parts of the coast. The storms left some notable records, especially between Berguedà and Ripollès, such as the 62 l/m² that fell in Guardiola de Berguedà, the 34 in Sant Pau de Segúries or the 32 in La Quar.

This Friday the weather will be much calmer, and in the afternoon only some more localized showers will be repeated in the Pyrenees and eastern pre-Pyrenees and nearby areas of the northern interior. Although some isolated downpour is not ruled out in this area, the situation will have nothing to do with yesterday's, and calm will dominate in most regions. We wake up with a generally cooler atmosphere thanks to Thursday's rain, and warm minimums were only recorded in stretches of the central and southern coast, and in Terres de l'Ebre. Today temperatures will rise and the atmosphere will be warm. The weekend will see a repeat of afternoon instability in the north of the country and in some western areas, but heat and sultriness will be intense again in the coming days.

The calm that dominated Wednesday will not continue. This Thursday, instability will clearly increase, and from midday and during the afternoon, an extensive spell of showers and strong storms is expected to sweep across a large part of the country. Not yet in the morning, when calm will dominate, although variability and cloudy spells will increase as the hours pass.

Yesterday, showers and thunderstorms returned in a more disconnected way in some regions. They mainly affected parts of the Pyrenees, the pre-coastal area, Central Catalonia, and the northeastern interior. In some cases, real downpours occurred, accompanied by hail or sleet, as already happened on Monday, especially in the regions of Osona and Ripollès.

We have started the week again with intense heat and stuffiness. A heavy atmosphere that we have been dragging for days and that, despite not leaving records as scattered as in previous days, makes the sensation very warm everywhere. The novelty yesterday was that the afternoon showers and thunderstorms gained ground and strength in the western half of the country, in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees and in the Ports area. In some cases, there were real downpours accompanied by large hail, the result of so much accumulated heat. This is the case of Solsona, where the mid-afternoon hailstorm was very significant. In fact, Solsonès was the region where it rained the most, with 57 l/m² in Port del Comte. Downpours that lasted well into the night.

We leave behind a weekend that has been marked by intense heat and sultriness, but also by afternoon storms that on Saturday were strong and widespread in parts of the Pyrenees, pre-Pyrenees, Ebro, and northeast. A situation that will be repeated this Monday, with showers and thunderstorms that will gain ground in the afternoon in the western half of the country. Where it rains heavily, the atmosphere cools down suddenly. But we are talking about exceptions, as this new week will again be marked by heat, warm nights, and values clearly above average. An episode that will last for quite a few more days.

The month of August has begun just as July ended: with intense heat. Yesterday was a very warm day overall and muggy in many regions, especially near the sea. Temperatures dropped inland and in the north, mainly due to the presence of more suspended dust and intervals of clouds, and 40 ºC was no longer reached anywhere. But the news were the afternoon showers and thunderstorms, which fell heavily in parts of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees -especially in the eastern part- and in the Ports. In fact, they reached more places in the northeast and the Ebro region. In some cases, there were real downpours that left, as the most notable records, up to 40 l/m² in Castellar de n'Hug (Berguedà) or 38 l/m² in Molló (Ripollès) in a short time, even with hail or sleet and strong winds. Real summer storms, fueled by so much accumulated heat.

We leave behind a month that has become the hottest July in the history of Catalonia, surpassing the Julys of 2022 and 2025. This is indicated by the monthly report from the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) after analyzing data from across the country since 1950. The persistence of three heat episodes during the month, along with an almost generalized lack of precipitation, has left extraordinary temperature records.

Although temperatures dropped slightly yesterday in the interior and the northern half of the country, July once again said goodbye with a lot of heat. On Friday, temperatures again reached 40°C in inland areas, such as Solsona, in more localized spots. The novelty was the reappearance of showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, and Ports, with lightning strikes that even caused some forest fires. This Saturday we will repeat a situation similar to Friday's, while on Sunday there will be a new scorching peak. Therefore, August begins this weekend with the continuity of a heatwave that is particularly affecting the interior and which will continue next week. All this after closing July ends as the hottest in history and one of the driest on record in Catalonia. This week it is worth highlighting that on Thursday, up to five absolute heat records were broken at stations in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees with more than twenty years of Meteocat data.

August 12th of this year is a date that has long been marked by everyone on the calendar. The historic total solar eclipse that Catalonia will experience will paralyze the country and, for a few moments, everyone will be looking at the sky. For this reason, the million-dollar question is obvious: will the weather allow us to enjoy this long-awaited event?

Yesterday's extreme heat peak left up to 40 °C in many parts of Ponent, the Pre-Pyrenees, and nearby areas. This figure was reached, for example, in municipalities such as Solsona, Montesquiu, La Pobla de Segur, Sant Romà d'Abella, Torres de Segre, Vilanova de Segrià, and Alcarràs. But the highest maximums were recorded in Lleida and Tremp, with 41.3  °C and 41  °C respectively. Temperatures rose especially inland, in Empordà and the Pyrenees, where the mercury will drop slightly today. An episode of intense heat that will still last for quite a few days, with some ups and downs.