Mid-summer atmosphere and isolated afternoon thunderstorms in the Pyrenees

BarcelonaA pocket of warm air from North Africa is making the atmosphere feel like mid-summer. This hot air will favor the formation of a thermal low over the Iberian Peninsula, which will cause the thermometer to rise and also form afternoon thunderstorms in the Pyrenees. This weekend, thermometers are generating highs higher than what would be expected for this time of year, with values that have exceeded 36°C in Empordà and Central Catalonia. For example, yesterday in Cabanes (Alt Empordà) and Artés (Bages) they reached up to 36.4°C. In Lleida or El Poal, they reached 35.6°C.

All in all, we will have summer weather, anticyclonic, and with more heat and tropical nights near the sea (with minimums above 21 ºC). This gust of warm air from North Africa will also be accompanied by more suspended dust. However, from today onwards, afternoon showers and thunderstorms will reappear in the Pyrenees.

Sunday: more heat and afternoon thunderstorms

Thermometers will remain above average for this time of year, with clear skies and at most the presence of some thin clouds. Tropical minimum temperatures will gain ground near the sea, and maximum temperatures could reach up to 37 ºC 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 to go until the astronomical summer arrives.

Late afternoon showers in the Pyrenees until Wednesday

Afternoon showers in the Pyrenees until Wednesday

The thermal low will favor the growth of convective clouds, especially during the afternoon. The same heat and slightly low pressure will favor these afternoon thunderstorms, typical of summer. The storms will discharge during the second part of the day in the regions of the Lleida Pyrenees and also in Ripollès or Cerdanya. They will be showers that, locally, may discharge with some intensity, with electrical activity and some hail. In the rest of the territory, good weather and summer heat will continue. The maximums in Ponent will be around 37 ºC.

Maximums registered on 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