Some changes in the weather to start the weekend

BarcelonaThe calm and warmth of midsummer weather persisted this Friday, but the mercury didn't rise as much as it did on Thursday in the West and northeast. Temperatures will drop slightly on Saturday and rise again with intense heat on Sunday, but temperatures will normalize next week, and we'll have much more moderate heat. We still don't see any heat in sight. The weekend will begin with the passage of a cold front that will leave a few scattered showers or drops during the early hours of Saturday morning. Sunshine and calm will eventually prevail in most of the country, but new afternoon showers will fall in the north and along the pre-coastal area. These will lessen on Sunday, but could reach more regions by the middle of next week.

Saturday: some showers until the morning

During the early hours and morning, a line of instability will cross us, leaving some scattered, weak showers and drops from west to east. They may reach many places and will be minor, but it will not rain everywhere. For example, areas such as the Barcelona coast, the Costa Brava, and the interior of the Ebro River are unlikely to receive any rainfall. However, towards the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, some showers may be more intense and may be accompanied by thunderstorms.

All of this will pass quickly, as calm and sunny weather will prevail in most regions during the day, with the exception of some cloud bands. In the afternoon, dark clouds will develop in mountain areas, bringing new showers and some irregular thunderstorms in parts of the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, and even northern Central Catalonia, the Barcelona coast, and between Montseny and the Transversal mountain range.

The night will once again be tropical in many places, especially along the coast, where it will be more difficult to sleep and there will even be some torrid lows—over 25°C—in large urban areas along the coast. Highs will drop inland and in the northern half of the country, where the heat will be more moderate overall. There will be few changes along the coast, with muggy conditions, and a temporary rise in the mercury on the southern coast due to the arrival of superheated mistral winds. In fact, in this area, Meteocat has issued a heat alert. Tramontana winds will also be expected in the Empordà region.

Sunday: temporary rebound in heat

Temperatures will rise temporarily on the last day of the weekend. The arrival of a warm westerly wind inland and a garbí wind in the northeast will send temperatures soaring, especially in the Pla de Lleida region and the northern regions of Girona. Many highs of 31 to 36°C are expected, but higher in these areas and in the southern interior. Temperatures will remain unchanged along much of the coast, and even lower along the southern coastline, after Saturday's warm rebound.

Be that as it may, the heat will be fully summery, on a typical, fairly quiet day of dog days. The sun will dominate, and in the afternoon, clouds will gather in mountain areas, which, at most, will bring some minor, local showers in the Pyrenees or Els Ports.

Bearable heat next week

We'll start next week under the indirect influence of a deep low in the British Isles, which will send us some cold air aloft. This will cause temperatures to drop further, and throughout the week we'll have normal temperatures for the time of year, or slightly below average. In other words, the heat will be bearable. We're in the dog days, and that means the weather will be warm, but we don't see extremes or major heat waves in sight.

All of this with new, fairly localized afternoon showers in areas of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. The maps indicate that showers and thunderstorms could gain intensity and affect more regions between Wednesday and Thursday. A situation that will need to be confirmed, although it doesn't seem very significant.

New records and data for July

Sea water temperatures broke a new heat record this Friday. Observer Josep Pascual reports that the latest measurement of the sea surface in l'Estartit (Baix Empordà) registered 26.84°C, four degrees above average and the highest value for July in 50 years of data.

Furthermore, on July 5, there was a blast that caused material damage between Sallent and Artés, in Bages. This is confirmed by a report by Meteocat, which also states that on Saturday the 12th, there was a record number of waterspouts in a month of July, specifically six.

The study details that the blast reached a wind speed of 150 km/h in the midst of a strong storm. The event affected a 4.7 km long and 2.5 km wide strip, with hundreds of uprooted or broken trees and damage to roofs and decks. The waterspouts are not typical of July, but the collision between the DANA and the intense heat accumulated on land and at sea created a phenomenon more typical of late summer.