Midsummer heat arrives early: temperatures of over 35°C in the coming days

BarcelonaWe're still in the middle of spring, but this week we'll already have a good taste of summer. The arrival of a very warm air mass from North Africa will cause temperatures to soar starting Wednesday and the atmosphere to be fully summery, with almost a month left until the new season arrives. We're on the verge of the hottest days of the year so far.

These days are already short-sleeved, but the heat is still reasonable for us on the threshold of June. Starting Wednesday, the mercury will clearly tip upwards, with many highs of 27°C to 33°C. However, in the West and inland areas of the Ebro and Valencian Regions, the heat will be more intense, in some cases reaching 35°C or 36°C for the first time this year.

Current maps indicate that the warmest days will be mainly Friday and Saturday. This is when temperatures will peak, with highs of 30 to 35°C recorded in many parts of the pre-coastal and inland areas. The hottest areas will once again be those in the West, the inland Ebro, and the Valencian Country. Be careful, because in these areas, temperatures will reach or occasionally exceed 37 or 38°C. You'll be sweating profusely.

Needless to say, these are completely out of place values for the end of May, with temperatures between 3 and 7 degrees above average in general and around 10 degrees higher than usual for the season in parts of the West and the Pyrenees. These temperatures are more typical of an intensely hot day in mid-July. Ground zero for this atypically summery heat wave will be the interior of the southern peninsula, where temperatures will reach or slightly exceed 40°C locally. All very calm, sunny, and with no further rain in sight. Starting Sunday, temperatures are expected to begin to drop, but a suspended pulse will also arrive towards the weekend, leaving a more chalky sky.

First tropical nights on the coast

The arrival of southerly winds laden with heat and humidity will cause increasingly heavy muggy conditions along the entire coast starting Wednesday. But what will be most notable along the coastline is that nighttime temperatures will be high, with the first tropical nights of the year in several areas, especially starting Thursday and in large urban areas such as Barcelona. In recent days, there have already been very mild lows near the sea, but this year, nighttime temperatures above 20°C have yet to be recorded.

On the other hand, as the sea is still relatively cool, and despite the muggy feeling, the sea breeze will mean that maximum temperatures will not rise as much as in the pre-coastal or inland areas, with more moderate heat during the day. The contrast between the warm air mass and the cold sea water will also cause the formation of some coastal fog.