Scorching heat with possible record temperatures between Thursday and Friday

BarcelonaThermometers took another step forward this Wednesday, with highs exceeding 30 ºC in much of the country and 35 or 36 ºC in Ponent and the southern interior. The maximum of 36.6 ºC reached in Vinebre (Ribera d’Ebre) stands out. We are fully in an extraordinary heatwave, the result of the heat dome effect caused by the powerful anticyclone over all of Western Europe for days. And pay attention because between Thursday and Friday temperatures will peak and could reach 40 ºC in the Lleida plain and the Ebro interior. It is possible that some heat records for a May month will be registered. All this with more tropical nights, sunshine in general, and afternoon showers in the Pyrenees that will increase in the coming days, especially on the weekend. From Saturday onwards, the temperature will gradually decrease, but it will remain well above average.

Thursday: rampant heat

Temperatures will rise even further this Thursday, both day and night. Tropical lows will gain ground along the coast. A very hot day is expected everywhere, with full heatwave conditions, with values completely out of control and out of place for the end of May. It is possible that in the regions of Girona and Barcelona it will be the hottest day of this episode.

Many maximums will range between 32 and 37 ºC in the pre-coastal areas, inland, and in the valleys of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. But in Ponent and the Ebro valley, 38 ºC or 39 ºC could be reached or approached. We will see if any records are broken. Lots of heat also on the coast, with values above 30 ºC in many cases and mugginess.

Regarding the state of the sky, radiant sunshine will dominate. But the novelty will be that the afternoon cloudiness will grow with a bit more intensity in the Pyrenees, where a scattered, local, and insignificant shower might occur.

Temperatures are peaking

Friday will likely be the warmest day of the year so far, especially in the south and west. The torrid peak of this episode is expected, which may also set new heat records for a month of May. The atmosphere will be worthy of the hottest days of the summer heatwave, with highs exceeding 35 ºC in many parts of the interior and pre-coastal areas, and 39 or 40 ºC may be reached in Ponent and the Ebro valley. However, the mercury may already recede a little in the counties of Girona and Barcelona.

From the weekend, the mercury will generally start to drop, but we'll be coming from so high up that the weather will continue to be atypically full summer. In fact, tropical nights will also extend to more regions and further from the coast between Friday and the weekend. It's worth noting that the sea water has also warmed up much more than it should have in recent days, and it already has values around 4 degrees above average.

All this with radiant sun in the short and medium term in most regions. However, the core of the anticyclone will gradually shift towards the Atlantic, which will favor afternoon clouds growing with more intensity. Therefore, showers and thunderstorms will increase in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, especially during the weekend, when some hail or sleet is not ruled out as a result of the accumulated heat.