Fully summer weather: heat and afternoon showers in the north

BarcelonaThe heat has not been as intense at the start of the weekend, although we remain with thermal values quite a bit higher than usual at the end of May. Little by little we will leave behind a heatwave that has broken the record for the highest maximum ever reached in Catalonia in the month of May, with 39.5 °C recorded in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) on Friday (you will find the most outstanding data from this historic heatwave at the end of this information). The protagonism, however, will continue to be for the heat and also for a sun that will combine with high clouds and with showers in the north of the country, as we have already seen during Saturday afternoon.

Sunday: heat and afternoon showers

Sunday's temperatures will remain very high for the time of year –the last day of May– and will even temporarily rise again in some regions, especially in the south of the country and also along the coast and pre-coastal areas. Therefore, the very intense and heatwave-like heat will continue, with many values above 30 ºC. In Ponent and the Ebro interior, maximums of 36 to 39 ºC will be recorded again.

All this with weather very similar to Saturday's. Therefore, radiant sunshine will generally dominate, and in the afternoon powerful clouds will again grow in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, the interior of the Valencian Country, and probably the Ports. In these areas, irregular and locally heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected. Between the evening and night, intervals of clouds will reach the coast, as a result of the remains of these clouds.

Monday: less warm weather

The month of June will begin with few changes regarding the meteorological situation, still marked by the presence of high clouds and the formation of some showers that will affect the Pyrenean regions in the afternoon. Locally they will be accompanied by thunderstorms and hail. The temperature will drop during the central hours of the day, especially on the coast and pre-coast, with 6 to 10 ºC less than the thermal values recorded on Thursday.

Pending a possible refresh

The maps indicate that over the next week temperatures will continue to drop and approach thermal normalization for the season. A situation that is still uncertain and that we will have to confirm, but which would make us breathe much better, coinciding with the beginning of June. On Tuesday, a wave of showers and thunderstorms could reach more regions outside the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees.

Balance of a historic heatwave

The long, historic, and premature heatwave we are experiencing these days in Catalonia and much of Europe is the result of a powerful anticyclone that is causing what is known as the heat dome effect: the air does not circulate and we have strong solar radiation that heats the environment significantly, causing heat to accumulate and become more intense day after day. An episode that has left many heat records in our country and across the continent. The most notable figure is the 39.5 ºC reached on Friday in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre), which has become the new absolute heat record for a May in all of Catalonia. But there have been exceptional figures for the time of year throughout the territory. Also noteworthy are the 37.5 ºC reached at the Lleida station on Friday, which, with 86 years of data, has recorded its May heat record, surpassing the record set the previous day. There have been several records in Ponent and Ebre, where it was hottest on Friday.

On Friday morning, the weather was tropical in many parts of the coast and the pre-coastal areas, especially. Torrid lows, above 25 °C, were even recorded. This is the case of the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, where the minimum of 25.3 °C recorded on Friday morning is the new provisional record for nighttime heat in a May in 112 years of data. Finally, in the evening the thermometer dropped below this mark and, technically, it ceased to be a record for a full day. Also noteworthy are the minimum of 25.7 °C in Portbou (Alt Empordà), where on Thursday the temperature did not drop below 28 °C, the new record for the highest minimum in a May in Catalonia. An extraordinary event very localized in this area due to the warmed-up tramuntana wind that blew there.

We have experienced the worst two days of this historic and premature heatwave, which on Thursday set many heat records for the month of May. The centenary Ebre Observatory also broke its own May record, with 37.3 °C. The city of Girona reached 37 °C in May for the first time since records began, and the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona also broke its own May heat record, with a maximum of 33.6 °C. Many other municipalities also reached their own heat records on Thursday.