Midsummer atmosphere and isolated afternoon thunderstorms in the Pyrenees

BarcelonaA mass of warm air from North Africa will make the atmosphere feel like mid-summer over the next few days. This hot air will favor the formation of a thermal low over the Iberian Peninsula, which will cause the thermometer to rise and also generate afternoon thunderstorms in the Pyrenees. This weekend, thermometers are showing maximums higher than usual for this time of year, with values exceeding 36°C in Empordà and Central Catalonia. For example, in Cabanes (Alt Empordà) and Artés (Bages) they reached 36.4°C. In Lleida (Segrià) or El Poal, they reached 35.6°C.

All in all, we will have summer weather, with increasing heat and tropical nights near the sea. This gust of warm air coming from North Africa will also be accompanied each time by more suspended dust, as well as an anticyclone that will generally guarantee radiant sunshine. However, from tomorrow, afternoon showers and thunderstorms will reappear in the Pyrenees.

Sunday: more heat and afternoon showers

The thermometers will still rise a little more on the last day of the weekend, especially at night. Tropical lows will gain ground near the sea, and highs could climb up to 37 in parts of Ponent, the interior of the Ebro valley, and central Catalonia. Uncontrolled heat for the time of year, more typical of the dog days of summer than mid-June, when there is still a week left until the astronomical summer arrives.

The sun will dominate throughout the country this Sunday, but the novelty will be that a bit of cold air will arrive at altitude, as the anticyclonic ridge will move slightly. When colliding with so much heat and with the drop in pressure due to the formation of a thermal low, it will favor afternoon clouds growing stronger and the reappearance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees. A situation that will worsen by Monday, when more afternoon storms are expected. However, next week will be generally stable and very warm, as there is no clear end in sight to this new early summer episode.

Maximums recorded this Saturday:

• Cabanes: 36.4 °C
• Artés: 36.4 °C
• Saint Salvador de Guardiola: 35.6 °C
• El Poal: 35.6 °C
• Boadella Reservoir: 35 °C
• Benissanet: 35°C
• Vallirana: 34 °C