Extreme temperatures and sleepless nights: on the eve of the heatwave

BarcelonaThe heat was again very intense and full of heatstroke this Friday, with maximums around 37°C in Ponent. And attention because this weekend the thermometers will not stop rising. The atmosphere will be especially torrid from Sunday, when the first heatwave of the year will begin in our country, with extreme temperatures throughout the country for at least three consecutive days, both day and night. We expect suffocating days, with up to 40°C or more inland, and quite widespread sleepless nights. Meteocat has already issued the first official warnings for intense daytime heat in Ponent on Sunday and which will extend to many more regions on Monday. For its part, Civil Protection has activated the Procicat plan alert.

In some places, temperatures will be registered between 9 and 13 °C above average. An episode that will coincide with the official start of the astronomical summer, Sunday at 10:24 a.m. And beware because, even though the mercury will drop a little for Sant Joan, it will continue to be very hot for many days. All this is the result of an anticyclone and a powerful incursion of very warm air from North Africa that will intensify and embrace part of Europe, driven by the counterclockwise rotation of a low-pressure system located beyond the west of the Peninsula, with extreme heat in many countries.

Saturday: hotter

Temperatures will already rise more this Saturday, with many highs from 31 to 36 °C and marked stuffiness on the coast. But in Ponent and the Ebro valley, 37 to 39 °C will be reached, without ruling out locally some reading of 40 °C. Sun and calm will dominate, with plenty of dust in suspension.

However, in the early morning there will be some cloudy intervals and a risk of some localized shower in the western regions, especially in the Lleida Pyrenees. In the afternoon, cloudiness will increase in the Pyrenees, which, at most, will leave some localized shower in the western Pyrenees. Some shower in the Ports in the late afternoon, coming from the cloudiness of the Iberian system, is not ruled out.

Sunday: extreme heat

Thermometers will rise even more on Sunday, the day summer officially arrives. And it will do so with a bang, as the heat will be extreme and the heatwave will begin. Many highs of 32 to 38 °C are expected, and temperatures could also exceed 30 °C on the coast. But in the most torrid areas, 40 °C will be reached, especially in Ponent and the Ebro interior. The mugginess will become increasingly heavy on the coast. All this with sun and a lot of haze due to the presence of African dust in suspension. As seen in the following map, the heatwave will affect many parts of Europe, with particular impact in western France, where records of almost 45 °C could be reached.

A clear end to this episode is not visible

The heatwave will peak on Monday, when many inland areas will reach 40°C, but this figure could be exceeded in areas such as Ponent or Ebre. The presence of suspended dust may cloud the sun and slightly reduce solar radiation. This may slightly slow down the maximums these days, but on the other hand, it will make the nights more unbearable.

In this regard, tropical and restless nights are expected in general, and torrid nights can be recorded on the coast, with minimums above 25°C. From Monday onwards, the risk of afternoon showers will increase in the Pyrenees, while in the rest of the territory, the sun and suspended dust will continue.