Alert in a large part of the country today for risk of torrential downpours

BarcelonaThe announced change in weather is now here, which will mark the end of this episode of intense and atypical heat that has accompanied us during the first week of September, with temperature records. The passage of a cold front will complicate the meteorological situation and will make today an unstable day, with irregular downpours and storms that may be intense and leave some torrential deluges, with a risk of local flooding and sudden rising of rivers and streams. The area most affected will be the coast and pre-coast of Barcelona. The clash between cold air at high altitude and the intense heat accumulated over so many days can leave very significant downpours, which is why a large part of the country is on alert for intense rain. In fact, between the early morning and the first hours of the morning, heavy rain has affected the Garraf, the Baix Llobregat, the Penedès, and the north of the Vallès Occidental and Oriental, with a lot of electrical activity. Even so, the precipitation has moved quickly and has not left large accumulations for the moment. For example, more than 20 l/m² have already accumulated in a short time in Cunit, in the Baix Penedès.

In this sense, Meteocat has activated danger warnings for rain intensity (40 l/m² in half an hour) in a large part of the regions of the northern and eastern half of the country. The warning is red level in Baix Penedès, Alt Penedès, Garraf, Baix Llobregat and Vallès Occidental, and orange level in the rest of the Barcelona regions and in parts of the Camp de Tarragona and the interior of Girona. There is also another warning active for accumulations of more than 90 l/m² in three hours, especially on the central and southern coast and pre-coast, the Barcelona Pre-Pyrenees, Central Catalonia and the eastern Pyrenees. In some cases, the precipitation will be accompanied by violent weather phenomena, such as hail, sleet or strong winds.

Apart from the rain, the most notable aspect will be the drop in temperature, which will be marked everywhere. The decrease in temperatures could reach more than 10 degrees in some regions, especially in the Pyrenees and the northeast. Therefore, we will leave behind the extraordinary and sweltering heat of the last few days and shift suddenly to an environment more typical of September and the end of summer.

Wednesday: storms and downpours

The arrival of a front and the entry of wind at both ends of the territory will characterize today's weather change, with precipitation that will affect a large part of the country and will be locally intense, also in parts of the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. Meteorological models concentrate the bulk of the downpours on the central coast and pre-coastal areas and in the center of the country in the morning, but the situation may fluctuate a bit because these episodes are characterized by very significant and static downpours that can leave a lot of water in one spot and little in very nearby areas. The showers have already started at dawn, and the main event is expected during the morning in the regions of Barcelona, the northeast interior, and south of Girona.

In the afternoon, instability will continue, but the most significant showers are expected mainly in the eastern Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, in the north of Central Catalonia, and in the northeast interior. The south and west of the country will be the areas that will remain most on the margins of this episode of showers and storms.

The north wind will be intense at the ends, with tramontane and mistral winds, and the temperature will drop sharply everywhere. The mercury will drop between 7 °C and 13 °C, with many maximums remaining between 22 °C and 26 °C, very far from the values of up to 40 ºC or more reached in recent days. The minimums will be recorded at the end of the day.

Thursday: calm and heat in check

The meteorological situation will change radically on Thursday, although there will still be some scattered showers during the early morning. The rest of the day will be dominated by sun, with the presence of some high clouds, and a mistral and tramontane wind that will lose strength but will still be intense during the morning. The minimum temperature will drop after Wednesday's storms, and the early morning will be cold in the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees and cool inland, with minimums that in many cases will range between 9 °C and 15 °C. On the coast, values will be between 15 °C and 19 °C, now without tropical nights. The maximums will range between 25 °C and 28 °C and could only graze 30 °C in some points of the Ebro valley, far from the 42.5 °C of just a few days ago. The coming days will maintain normalized temperatures with absolute calm.