Alert for strong storms in a large part of the country today

BarcelonaThe 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.

Precipitation will start punctually in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, where the first shower may appear before noon. Storms will spread rapidly in the afternoon towards Central Catalonia, and showers will eventually reach a large part of the interior and pre-coastal areas, especially the central ones, as well as the Ports. Some showers will also reach the coast, mainly between Maresme and Camp de Tarragona, although they will initially be more scattered and less intense. It will be less likely to rain in the northeast of the Girona region and between the south of Camp de Tarragona and the Ebre coast.

Storms will in many cases leave real downpours, accompanied in some cases by hail, sleet or strong winds. Extreme phenomena that will be fueled by so much accumulated heat this summer. The most affected areas will be Central Catalonia, the eastern Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, the Barcelona coastal area and the interior of Camp de Tarragona. The Inuncat plan is activated in alert phase, and Meteocat's warnings for intense rain extend over a large part of the country. In addition, in the most affected areas, the new alert for accumulations of more than 60 l/m² in just three hours has also been activated.

Given all this, Civil Protection asks for extreme caution, especially regarding mobility and outdoor activities, particularly in areas where rapid water accumulation or sudden flash floods of streams and torrents may occur. Downpours can also occur in the interior of the Girona and Valencia regions.

All this will cause a drop in temperatures, especially where it rains heavily. Therefore, more bearable heat is expected, with many highs between 29 and 34°C. The change will be little noticeable on the coast, where thermometers will remain similar to Wednesday's and the sultriness will continue to be marked.

More heat in the coming days

The showers will lessen in the coming days, but will not disappear. On Friday, there will be remnants of instability in the Pyrenees and the northeast, and on the weekend, afternoon showers and thunderstorms will increase again in the north of the country.

However, the degrees lost on Thursday will be recovered on Friday and during the weekend. Therefore, we will continue with temperatures clearly above average, with marked heat and mugginess. Next week could be particularly warm again, as the North African warm bubble would be reinforced.