Extreme heat peak: last toll before a few more breathable days
The entire interior on alert this Thursday for highs of up to 40 ºC or more
BarcelonaTemperatures have dropped slightly inland this Wednesday and 40 °C have not been reached anywhere, but the atmosphere has remained very warm everywhere, with many highs between 32°C and 38°C and stuffiness on the coast. Attention this Thursday, as thermometers will skyrocket inland: an extreme heat peak 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 recorded 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.
Beware of this new torrid peak of the thermometers. The coast will remain more on the sidelines of this rise, but the atmosphere will remain very warm and stuffy. From Friday onwards, the mercury will start to drop, and the descent will be more noticeable between the weekend and the beginning of next week, when temperatures will finally normalize. The heat will be more bearable, and the nights more pleasant and cool. Therefore, the extreme heat of the next few hours will be the last toll to pay before the expected drop in thermometers.
Thursday: heat soars
Nighttime temperatures will drop slightly, but the night will once again be warm and tropical in many places, with torrid lows in some coastal and Ebro stretches. On the other hand, maximums will soar inland, where many values will range between 37 °C and 42 °C. The most significant rise is expected in Ponent and the Ebro valley, where locally 43 °C or 44 °C can be reached. Extreme and suffocating heat also in the Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees, caution with the high temperatures.
On the coast, this rise will practically go unnoticed, but it will continue to be very hot and muggy. All in all, with sun, suspended dust, and perhaps some isolated afternoon showers in the Pyrenees or around the Ports.
Clear drop in thermometers
On Friday, temperatures will start to drop, but it will still be very hot everywhere. In fact, alerts for intense heat remain in the regions of Lleida, as temperatures will still hover around 40°C in Ponent and Conca de Tremp, or 35°C in the Catalan Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. From the weekend onwards, the thermal descent will be very noticeable, especially in the interior.
It will be especially between Sunday and the beginning of next week that thermometers will fully normalize. We can expect much more breathable days and cooler, more comfortable nights, especially away from the coast.
A heat situation more under control than we've seen in many days, which we'll have to take good advantage of, as everything seems to indicate that by mid-next week temperatures will rise above average again. Beyond an increase in afternoon showers on the weekend, there are no significant rains in sight.