New afternoon showers and warm peak on the eve of Sant Jordi

BarcelonaAfternoon storms have lost extent this Tuesday and have concentrated mainly on points in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, where some showers with hail or sleet have repeated. The strong hailstorm in Ribes de Freser (Ripollès) stands out, where the accumulated thickness of ice has been significant, hindering mobility in the municipality and leaving a completely white landscape. Until early evening, showers will still fall in the north of the country. All this after the heavy downpours on Monday left an exceptional hailstorm for this time of year in Osona, with stones between 2 and 3 cm in diameter in some cases. Despite not being a record size, it is the earliest hailstorm with the largest amount of large hail recorded in Catalonia (you will find more details at the end of this information). This is not at all normal outside the usual hailstorm season, which runs from June to September.

A typically spring-like situation with calm mornings and afternoon showers in some areas that will be repeated in the coming days, also around Sant Jordi. Therefore, there will again be downpours with hail or sleet, especially in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. Temperatures will still rise a little more this Wednesday, with an atmosphere that is too warm for the season. They will again reach or exceed 30 °C in Ponent and in the southern interior. On the other hand, around Sant Jordi the mercury will drop, with much more moderate heat.

Wednesday: hotter and new showers

The weather this Wednesday will be very similar to Tuesday's. Therefore, the morning will be quite calm, with sun combined with some bands of clouds and local morning fogs or low clouds. From mid-morning and noon, clouds will grow, leaving new irregular showers and thunderstorms in parts of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, but also in other areas, such as in the Ports. Even as the hours pass, some downpours may reach the northeast and Poniente. Once again, some downpours may leave hail or ice in the north of the country. In the rest of the regions, calm will prevail.

All this with more dust in suspension coming from North Africa due to the warm air mass from the south driven by the low located in the west of the peninsula. This will cause the sky to be more whitewashed or earthy and that, where it rains, the water will be accompanied by mud. Temperatures will still climb some more, with marked heat. Many highs will be between 25 and 30 °C on the pre-littoral and inland, and still above in Ponent and in parts of the southern interior. The mercury will again be held back more on the coast, and where it rains it will cool down suddenly.

Saint George with less heat

The novelty of Sant Jordi's Day will be that temperatures will generally drop due to the arrival of cooler winds from the east and northeast. The decrease will be more pronounced inland, where thermometers will not reach anywhere near as high as in recent days. Therefore, many highs will be between 22 and 27°C, far from 30°C.

More moderate heat that will be accompanied by new afternoon showers. They will mainly affect areas of the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, and the Els Ports region, but some more localized ones in the coastal foothills cannot be ruled out. We will be watching the sky in the afternoon in these areas, but in most regions it will not rain on Sant Jordi's Day, making for a day to enjoy.

Record hail

The strong hailstorm that affected the Osona region on Monday afternoon was exceptional, becoming the earliest hailstorm with the most large hail - over 2 centimeters - since records began in Catalonia. This is according to data provided by Meteocat.

The reason explaining these strong hailstorms is the atypical heat for this time of year, as it fuels the growth of powerful afternoon storms. Outside the usual season for large hail - from June to September - the record for hail size remains on January 7, 2018, with sizes up to 4 cm. However, on that occasion, as well as last year in Pla de Lleida, the amount of large hailstones was not as significant as on Monday in Osona. There are increasingly more intense off-season hailstorms due to the effects of the climate crisis.