Heat from the dog days until after San Juan

BarcelonaThe first official day of astronomical summer brought us full-blown temperatures yesterday. This Saturday, temperatures reached 40°C in the West, and exceeded 37°C in inland Girona, Central Catalonia, and inland Terres de l'Ebre.

The same heat and a slight drop in atmospheric pressure led to the formation of storm clouds that locally dumped hail and stones, for example in Osona. They dumped 8 mm in Orís and 7.5 mm in the Sau reservoir.

Today the mercury will drop slightly in some regions, but will rise again on Monday. The Midsummer Day weekend will be sweltering and fairly sunny, but with afternoon showers and thunderstorms in some areas, ahead of a generally pleasant and warm festival.

You'll find all the heat data and records at the end of this report.

Sunday: slight drop in mercury

The early hours of the morning have once again been tropical in many places, with temperatures that have not dropped below 25°C on the central coast. Highs this Sunday will drop slightly in the West and especially in the northern third of the country, including the Girona region. Elsewhere, temperatures will remain similar to Saturday's. Minor nuances are expected in a context of generally very hot weather and marked muggy conditions on the coast. Highs range from 32°C to 37°C, but up to 38°C or more in the West and the Ebro Valley. Therefore, the intense heat, more typical of the dog days, will continue.

The day will be bright, with clear skies everywhere and only a few patches of high, thin clouds. In the afternoon, the dark clouds will grow steadily, leaving scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, and Els Ports, but they may reach more inland areas of Catalonia and the Valencian Community until the evening. Meteocat has issued a warning for heavy rain due to the high possibility of these showers being accompanied by thunderstorms, strong gusts of wind, and, locally, hail or hail. They will primarily affect the regions of Central Catalonia, the Pyrenees, and the Pre-Pyrenees.

It will be a more unstable afternoon, but the showers won't reach everywhere; they'll stay away from the coast, especially where sunshine and calm will continue to dominate.

Verbena and end of long weekend with more heat

The couple of degrees lost on Sunday will be recovered on Monday in the west, with very intense heat and the possibility of reaching 40°C again in the West. Suffocating weather everywhere, with marked muggy conditions on the coast, tropical nights in many places, and locally torrid lows in some coastal areas. Temperatures will remain very high at least until Wednesday, but after that, the heat will be more bearable.

All of this, with a similar tone to the beginning of the long weekend. That is, calm mornings with general sunshine and afternoons with some irregular showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, and nearby areas. The night of the San Juan festival will be very placid and warm, with the disappearance of the showers that fell during the afternoon in the north of the country.

The first 40°C is reached on the first day of summer:

This Saturday was the warmest day so far this year in many parts of Ponent, with 40°C recorded in Segrià. Summer has begun with overwhelming heat, more typical of the dog days of July or August. The day was marked by the first 40°C temperatures of the summer season. The thermometer rose to 40°C in Segrià and to 38°C and 39°C in Pallars Jussà, La Noguera, and Pla d'Urgell. Inland Girona and Central Catalonia, temperatures reached nearly 38°C. The highest values were:

• Alcarràs: 40.1 °C
• Torres de Segre: 39.6 °C
• Lleida-La Femosa: 39.3 °C
• Serazo: 39.2 °C
• Mollerussa: 38.3 °C
• Temp: 38.2 °C
• Artes: 37 °C
• Girona: 37 °C
• Vine: 37 °C
• Espolla: 36.6 °C
• Castellbisbal: 36 °C
• Vallirana: 35.7 °C

These days also saw the first torrid nights recorded in several neighborhoods of Barcelona, ​​​​with minimum temperatures that did not drop below 25 °C. And a new water temperature record has been registered, in this case in Lake Banyoles, where the 27.55 °C measured on Friday by observer Josep Pascual is the highest value for a month of June since data began being collected in 2000. This record adds to the high of 25.2 °C recorded at this time of year.