National Day and weekend to take advantage of, with bearable heat

BarcelonaWe are at the gates of a very pleasant, radiant National Day of Catalonia that is to be enjoyed, with very few nuances. Temperatures will remain normalized, with plenty of morning coolness and bearable heat kept in check in the middle of the day. Therefore, and as has already happened this Thursday, only points in the south and the west will reach or slightly exceed 30 ºC. The weekend will be similar, with small changes on Saturday, but quite calm and sunny in general. Thermometers will rise slowly, both by day and by night, but always far from extremes. At the beginning of next week, we could have a transient warm peak, which would not last long. We have set our course towards autumn, and, except for transient peaks, there is no sign that makes us think of a return of extreme summer heat.

National Day: calm and few changes

The Diada will start with only some low clouds or morning fog between Girona and Barcelona. But above all with a very cool atmosphere again overall, and colder in mountain areas. Many minimum temperatures will range between 11 °C and 16 °C in the pre-coastal area and inland, lower in the north of Central Catalonia. In the Pyrenees, it will drop below 5 °C again in some cases, and on the coast, it will be difficult to reach 20 °C.

Sun and calm will generally dominate the entire day, and in the afternoon only a few clouds will grow in the northeast interior which, overall, will be harmless. Even so, a light and local drizzle or weak shower cannot be ruled out in the Montseny area. Maximum temperatures will rise slightly and most will range between 25 °C and 30 °C. In Ponent and the Ebro valley they may be slightly higher. The morning mistral will gradually leave the Ebro, and the tramontane will remain concentrated in the north of Alt Empordà.

Weekend with slight nuances

On Saturday, cloud intervals will increase along the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona, the south of Girona, and the north of Tarragona. In these areas, a light and local drizzle or shower cannot be ruled out. These would be anecdotal phenomena if they occur, while sun will dominate in the rest of the country. Radiant and calm weather that will become widespread again by Sunday.

On Saturday, temperatures will see few changes, although humidity and sultriness will increase near the sea. Starting Sunday, temperatures will rise more significantly, with more marked heat in the middle of the day. A warm atmosphere that will peak between Monday and Tuesday, before a new drop later on. Nights will remain cool in most of the territory, although minimum temperatures will also continue to rise.

Cooling down balance

Temperatures hit rock bottom on Thursday morning, with a sharp drop in temperature that has brought a very cool or cold atmosphere depending on the region. Sweaters have been essential in many regions, and even jackets in the Pyrenees. Many minimums of 8 °C to 14 °C have been recorded inland and in the pre-coastal areas, and in some cases, they have been even lower. On the coast, temperatures have also generally dropped below 20 °C, and in some sections, they have even hovered around 15 °C.

In mountain areas, the cold has been evident, especially in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, where it dropped below 5 °C in many cases. Notable is the minimum of nearly -1 °C in Das, in Cerdanya. The first timid frosts remind us that autumn is already approaching. In the coming days, thermometers will rise, but this sudden cool-down has been a definitive blow to the long and torrid summer we have experienced.