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.

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.

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.

The suffocating heat has returned. Yesterday was a very hot day and temperatures already reached 40°C in Ponent, but this figure was also approached in other inland areas, such as the Pre-Pyrenees. Highlights include the 40.4°C maximum in Lleida or the 39.9°C in Montesquiu (Osona) and Alcarràs (Segrià). And last night was also milder or warmer in general. The official start of the new episode of extreme heat in our region has been given, the umpteenth since the summer began and which will last for several days, at least for a week. As the heat thresholds are very likely to be exceeded for three consecutive days in several counties, this episode is considered a heatwave, especially in the interior of the country.

Beyond the tourist market of Encants in Plaça de les Glòries or the already historic Camello in Portaferrissa, Catalonia is full of small and large fairs of antique dealers, opportunities and collectibles to visit this summer throughout the most diverse towns on the coast and inland, with special abundance in the towns of Girona, and to vary a little from the (also) routine of looking for a spot on the beach for the umbrella and towel. These types of fairs are, moreover, spaces for discovering treasures: antique plates, historical photographs that could well inspire a novel or chandeliers of the kind not sold at Ikea are some of their great attractions. They also bring the pleasure of haggling in the heart of 21st century Catalonia, exchanging trading cards, looking for old typewriters, accordion cameras, postcards of the first Coca-Cola ads, iconic siphons or Playmobil figures and enjoying the satisfaction and good prices of second-hand items, which also contribute to the circular economy. In Catalonia there are true marchés aux puces to choose from, like the most ambitious ones in France or the rastros most emblematic of the late last century where you can waste time rummaging until you find a unique and singular treasure at a bargain price.

Thermometers have started to rise in recent hours. Yesterday the heat was already more intense, although still without major extremes. 38 ºC were exceeded in Ponent, as well as 37 ºC in the Pre-Pyrenees and in other parts of the interior. The night has been milder, and some torrid minimums have reappeared in the center of Barcelona and in the south of the country, highlighting the 26 ºC minimum in Alfacs (Montsià) and in the Raval neighborhood of the Catalan capital. And it is that from today the thermometers will skyrocket more and 40 ºC can already be reached in Ponent, as well as many maximums of 36 to 39 ºC in the rest of the interior. Meteocat has already issued the first warnings for intense heat from this Wednesday in the regions of Lleida, the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, Central Catalonia and the coast of Barcelona. This new episode of extreme heat will last at least until the middle of next week, and will probably become the fourth heatwave of the summer in Catalonia.

We leave behind a weekend marked by the change in air masses that has swept away the warm bubble and suspended African dust, with the entry of cold at altitude. All this has caused a clear cooling, as well as strong storms in various regions, especially during Saturday and early Sunday morning. A much more comfortable atmosphere - with bearable summer heat at midday and cool at night - that will still hold today. But this respite will not continue, as in the coming days a new irruption of warm North African air will push thermometers above average, with the return of intense heat. By mid-week, temperatures will reach 40 ºC again in western Catalonia.

1. A prominent figure from Figueres, one of those who were friends with Dalí and Pla, explains to me in a single sentence how his city has changed in a decade. “You only find the people of Figueres from the old days in two places, the funeral home and the high-speed train station”. This exaggeration, which perhaps isn't so much, makes me think about what kind of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont will find, now that Llarena and Marchena will have to yield, after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. No matter how much the Spanish judicial steamroller curses to delay his return, it is now only a matter of months before the president can return from his exile. Now that he will come to Catalonia to stay, and not with that fleeting vaudeville of two years ago, what will he find?

The passage of an upper trough has changed the weather in recent hours. Thunderstorms have discharged with intensity due to the generation of large convection clouds fueled by cold air that has dropped from more northerly latitudes. This clash of air masses with very different conditions has contributed to intense showers, accompanied by electrical apparatus, hail, and sleet (for example, yesterday afternoon, in Arbúcies). Until mid-afternoon on Saturday, we had already accumulated up to 35 l/m² in Sant Llorenç Savall and between 15 and 30 l/m² around the Montseny massif.

Yesterday we experienced the last day of extreme heat of the week. Temperatures dropped inland, but still reached 38 or 39°C in Ponent, the Tremp basin, or the Pre-Pyrenees. It will be this weekend – the last of July – when the arrival of a clearly colder air mass will sweep away the warm bubble and the suspended African dust, with a north wind and a clear drop in thermometers.

Laura Casals has professionally enjoyed being an early childhood education teacher, director of the Pràctiques school in the Sants neighborhood of Barcelona, and a trainer of teachers and directors. She has recently retired, but her schedule is very full, especially since last Christmas when she became a member of the ARA's Club Prèmium. "I have been a subscriber to the newspaper for years and from the beginning the activities of Club Prèmium. caught my attention. I was looking at them. "What if I joined?" I thought. But I kept putting it off until later," she explains. "I like culture, staying up to date with the theatre listings, film premieres, and especially the world of dance. I doubted if I could fit the Prèmium proposals into my schedule. But finally, I signed up, with the idea of trying it for a year... I have no doubt that there will be many more!" assures Laura.

Yesterday's heat peak in the interior of the country left maximums of up to 40 ºC or more in Ponent and the southern interior of the country. The extraordinary maximum of 43.2 ºC recorded in Vinebre (Ribera d’Ebre), 42.2 ºC in Torroja del Priorat, or 41.7 ºC in Ascó (Ribera d'Ebre) stand out. But while in some regions the thermometer hit its peak, in the Pyrenees the afternoon storms were stronger and more widespread than expected, a result of the same extreme heat accumulated. These precipitations left little remarkable records, but they suddenly cooled the atmosphere and were accompanied in some cases by hail or sleet. The 21 l/m² accumulated in Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Ripollès) stand out. The showers also reached the rest of the north of the Girona regions.

Attention today because thermometers will skyrocket inland: a peak of extreme heat will occur, which will be especially pronounced in Ponent and the Ebro Valley, where maximums of between 41°C and 44°C may be reached. 40°C will also be registered in other inland areas. Meteocat has activated alerts for intense heat this Thursday throughout the interior, the Pyrenees, and the pre-Pyrenees, with a red alert – the highest possible – in Segrià and Ribera d’Ebre. Alerts are also maintained in the west for Friday.

The heat and stuffiness are relentless and, in fact, yesterday they intensified, with highs returning to between 36 and 40 ºC inland. Temperatures around 40 ºC were reached, especially in Ponent and the southern interior, but also in some parts of central Catalonia or the northeastern interior, with extreme heat. Notably, 40.6 ºC were recorded in Cardona, in Bages.

Rain has been scarce in recent months, but yesterday afternoon showers and storms arrived in the Terres de l'Ebre which quickly spread to more areas of the coast and pre-coast. Notable were the 12 l/m² that fell in Falset (Priorat) or the 11 in Benissanet (Ribera d'Ebre). The surprise was that, in some cases, the storms were accompanied by brief sudden downpours, hail, or strong winds, a result of so much accumulated heat. This was the case in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and the south of the city of Barcelona, where gusts close to 120 km/h were recorded and a squall occurred. A sudden and very strong wind that caused trees to fall and various damage.

The weekend has been marked by the same meteorological trend that has accompanied us for the last month, with intense heat and practically no rainfall anywhere. The temperature did not reach 40 °C, but it approached 38 °C or 39 °C in parts of the Ponent region and the interior of the Ebro valley, while on the coast the mugginess was very pronounced. All this in anticipation of a new thermal rise during the first days of this new week, although with hope placed on a possible progressive normalization of thermometers from Thursday or Friday onwards.

The weekend has started with a meteorological tone practically identical to the rest of the week, with very high temperatures that on Saturday again approached 39 °C in Ponent and exceeded 35 °C in practically any point of the interior. An intense and long-lasting heat that will continue also for Sunday and early next week, with maximums that will again seek the 40 °C mark and generalized tropical or torrid minimums.

In Junts, the polls have not been good for some time in general. It is not only the latest CEO barometer, but since Salvador Illa's investiture as president, everything has been going downhill. This situation was discussed at the summit last Monday, reported by ARA, in which the secretary general, Jordi Turull, convened about twenty leaders, including mayors and heads of lists from regional capitals. "The party is doing well in Madrid, but not in Catalonia," was one of the most repeated phrases at the summit, according to various sources consulted. And it is not new: a large part of the party considers that Junts is functioning correctly in Congress, but not in Parliament. What is the criticism?