Muggy weather on the coast and a couple of degrees cooler in Ponent

BarcelonaThe warm air mass from North Africa is keeping the temperature sweltering across the country, especially in Ponent, where temperatures soared past 37°C yesterday (37°C in Poal and Alfarràs, and 36°C in Tremp). In Banyoles, temperatures reached nearly 36°C, and in El Vendrell, they reached almost 34°C.

However, there will be a slight respite for today, Sunday. It won't cool down much, but temperatures will drop by two or three degrees in the Lleida region. It will be hot, but not as extreme. All this, with the showers and some storms recorded during the last night and throughout this morning and midday that have accumulated 10 mm in Sasseuva or in Vielha and lesser amounts in other points of the Pyrenees and the western Pre-Pyrenees (1 mm in Tremp or 2 mm in Tírvia and in El Pont de Suert).

The heat will continue and even intensify next week, especially towards Tuesday.

Sunday: muggy weather on the coast and less extreme heat in Ponent

Low clouds are expected along the coast during the early hours of the morning, and partly cloudy skies are expected in the northern third, where there will be some showers in parts of the Pyrenees and western Pre-Pyrenees, locally forming thunderstorms, which could develop until midday. By mid-morning, the weather will clear up across the rest of the country, with generally clear skies.

Temperatures will drop slightly, especially in the north of the country. However, this will be a subtle drop, as it will continue to be very hot, with highs of 31 to 33°C in much of the interior and pre-coastal areas, and somewhat higher in Ponent and Empordà, where they will hover between 33°C and 35°C. We will experience a midsummer atmosphere with tropical nights and markedly muggy conditions on the coast (last night, temperatures did not drop below 23.5°C in Barcelona or 23.7°C on Buda Island in the Ebro). Minimum temperatures, in many coastal areas, will continue to hover around 23°C, with high humidity. The sun will combine with bands of high, thin clouds, and in the afternoon, dark clouds will again grow in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, bringing some local showers, especially in the west.

Monday, hot flashes with some isolated showers

The morning will be sunny with some thin clouds and low clouds on the coast or in the pre-coastal area. In the afternoon, clouds will gather in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, and inland areas of Girona, where some isolated showers may occur, sometimes forming thunderstorms. Temperatures will remain high, above average, but without extreme heat. In the West, they will reach 35 or 36°C, and on the coast, they will not exceed 27°C.

Warmer weather next week

Far from abating, the heat will continue into next week, even reaching a new scorching peak between Tuesday and Wednesday. In fact, models indicate a new advance of the warm mass from North Africa, which will send temperatures soaring again on Tuesday, with highs once again reaching nearly 39°C in Ponent. Along the coast, apart from the muggy conditions, the salty sea air will keep temperatures at around 28°C or 29°C. This is unbridled heat in an extraordinarily hot June.

It looks like we'll be approaching the Sant Joan long weekend with a fairly calm weather forecast and temperatures above average, although they might drop a bit.

Heat report for the week

Temperatures reached their peak last Wednesday in many regions, especially on the coast and in the pre-coast areas of Barcelona and Central Catalonia, where they reached 37 or 38°C locally. Even in the city of Barcelona itself, temperatures exceeded 33°C. However, the arrival of dark clouds prevented temperatures from rising as high as Tuesday in Poniente, where they barely reached 35 or 36°C, far from the 38°C mark. The exception was Artesa de Segre (Noguera), where there was a brief, scorching peak of up to 38.4°C, which turned out to be the highest maximum in the entire country. Tuesday and Wednesday were the hottest days of the year. These are the most notable maximum values from a stifling Wednesday:

• 38.4°C, Artesa de Segre
• 38 °C, Artes
• 37.7 °C, the Canoso
• 37.5 °C, Caldes de Montbui
• 37.4 °C, Oliana
• 37.4 °C, Castellbisbal
• 37.4 °C, Oliola
• 37.3 °C, Baldomar
• 37.2 °C, Tárrega
• 37.2 °C, Parets del Vallès
• 37 °C, Vallirana
• 36.9 °C, Massoteras
• 36.6 °C, La Pobla de Segur
• 36.2 °C, Sabadell

Also noteworthy are the tropical lows, which have lost ground after being repeated on Tuesday and Wednesday in several locations, including inland, especially in high elevations. However, the coast is where the most lows above 20°C have been recorded. Particularly noteworthy is the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​where the low was 23.5°C on Thursday, but close to 24°C on Tuesday. The Fabra Observatory also did not drop below 22.8°C on Thursday night, and Montserrat Mountain reached 21.4°C, while at lower altitudes it was cooler. Cities such as Lleida and Girona experienced their first tropical night early Tuesday morning, but both Wednesday and Thursday saw a cooler night.

This Sunday, the minimum temperatures did not drop below 23.5 ºC in many observatories on the central coast, the Costa Dorada and the Ebro. Some maximum temperatures yesterday Saturday were:

• 37 ºC, the Poal
• 37 ºC, Alfarràs
• 37 ºC, Lleida-La Fenosa
• 36 ºC, Tremp,
• 35 ºC, Banyoles,
• 34 ºC, El Vendrell