We take advantage of the slight respite: a new episode of extreme heat is approaching

Temperatures have dropped this first day of July thanks to the arrival of cooler north winds, with full summer heat but more moderate in the middle of the day. Most values have ranged between 30 and 35°C, nothing like the almost 40°C of yesterday. But the exception has been the coast of Tarragona, where the warmed-up wind has caused a heat spike. Notably, 36.4°C was reached in the city of Tarragona.

All this after a night that has been more breathable and cooler inland and in mountain areas, although tropical minimums and some torrid ones have still been repeated on the coast and pre-coast. In fact, the next two dawns will be luxurious outside the coast, as the cooling will be noticeable. Thursday and Friday will see maximums start to rise, though still without major extremes.

It will be from the weekend when the heat becomes more suffocating, especially on Sunday, with many highs from 35 to 40°C. The anticyclone and the warm air mass from North Africa will once again fully affect Western Europe. And pay attention because a second heatwave next week is not ruled out.

Thursday: heat without extremes

The night will be cooler than the previous one in the pre-coastal areas, inland, and in the Pyrenees, with minimums below 20 °C. On the other hand, tropical minimums will be repeated on the coast, and even on the Costa Brava there will be some torrid ones, due to the reheated tramuntana wind. Meteocat maintains alerts activated for nocturnal heat in Alt and Baix Empordà.

The highs will rise a little, except in the Pyrenees and on the southern coast, where they may fall. Many values will range between 31 and 36°C, higher in the south and the Ebro region, and lower in mountainous areas.

All this with sun and calm, as the afternoon showers will disappear completely in the north of the country. The exception will be the north wind, which will remain at the extremes. The maestral will blow until midday in the Ebro, and the tramontana will remain all day in the south.

Extreme heat will return in the coming days

Friday and Saturday the temperatures will remain similar to Thursday's and will rise slightly, both during the day and at night. It will be during the weekend, and especially Sunday, when the heatwave will intensify again. The anticyclone, which had moved back a bit, will affect us fully again, and the warm North African air will strengthen.

Therefore, the mixture of stagnant intense heat and a lot of solar radiation will cause a new episode of extreme heat in our area, but also throughout the Iberian Peninsula – especially the western half – and Western Europe.

With the current maps, temperatures will once again reach or exceed 40°C for several days in the hottest areas of the country, which suggests that we are on the verge of the second heatwave of the summer. These will be values between 5 and 8 degrees above average, considering that we are in the hottest period of the year.