The heat will be less extreme on the last weekend of May

BarcelonaThe historic heatwave that has been affecting us for days peaked this Friday in the southern interior of the country. The 39.5 °C recorded in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) stand out. This is the highest maximum ever reached in a May in all of Catalonia, which shatters the absolute record in force until now: the 38 °C registered in May 2022 in Castellbisbal (Vallès Occidental) and Anglès (Selva), which were matched yesterday in Vinebre as well. This historic data is added to the large number of records that fell yesterday across the country (you will find the most outstanding data from this historic heatwave at the end of this information).

On the other hand, thermometers have not climbed as much as yesterday in the regions of Girona and Barcelona, even though the heat has remained intense. The thermal descent will become generalized and will intensify this Saturday, with less extreme heat. Despite this, the atmosphere will remain in full summer and with values still between 5 and 10 above the average for the time of year in many cases this last weekend of May. All this with sunshine in general, but with irregular and locally strong showers and storms that will gain ground in the afternoons in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. Throughout next week, it seems that the mercury will gradually decrease and the heat will be much more bearable.

Saturday: temperature drops

The thermal drop that began in some regions on Friday will continue this Saturday. The night will again be tropical in points, especially along the coast, pre-coast and south of the country, without ruling out some new local torrid minimums. Maximums will decrease generally and the heat will no longer be so extreme.

However, the atypical full summer atmosphere will be maintained, and there will be values clearly above average. Many maximums of 30 to 35 ºC are expected inland, but up to 36 or 37 ºC in Ponent and inland south. On the coast there will be readings of 26 to 30 ºC, with marked mugginess.

All in all with sun in general, without ruling out some low coastal cloud in the early morning. In the afternoon, clouds will grow stronger in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, and the interior of the Valencian Country, where showers and thunderstorms will increase. They will fall irregularly in these areas, and since we are coming from so much accumulated heat, some local downpour accompanied by hail or sleet is not ruled out. Where it rains, the cooling will be sudden. Towards the evening, the remains of the broken clouds will arrive in other regions.

Sunday: heat and afternoon showers

Sunday's temperatures will remain very high for the time of year –the last day of May– and will even rise again temporarily in some regions, especially in the south of the country. Therefore, the very intense and heatwave conditions will persist, with many values above 30 ºC. In Ponent and the interior of the Ebro, maximums of 36 to 39 ºC will be recorded again.

All this with weather very similar to Saturday's. Therefore, radiant sunshine will generally dominate, and in the afternoon, powerful clouds will once again grow in the Pyrenees, Pre-Pyrenees, the interior of the Valencian Country, and likely in the Ports. In these areas, irregular and locally heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected. Between the evening and night, intervals of clouds will arrive on the coast, as a result of the remnants of these clouds.

Pending a possible refresh

The maps indicate that throughout the coming week temperatures will continue to drop further and approach thermal normalization for the season. A situation that is still uncertain and that we will have to confirm, but that would make us breathe much better, coinciding with the beginning of June. On Tuesday, a spell of showers and thunderstorms could reach more regions outside the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees.

Balance of a historic heatwave

The long, historic, and premature heatwave we are experiencing these days in Catalonia and much of Europe is the result of a powerful anticyclone that is causing what is known as the heat dome effect: the air does not circulate and we have strong solar radiation that heats the environment considerably, causing the heat to accumulate and become more intense day after day. An episode that has left many heat records in our country and across the continent. The most notable figure is the 39.5 °C reached on Friday in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre), which has become the new absolute heat record for the month of May in all of Catalonia. But there have been exceptional figures for the season across the territory.

On Friday morning, the weather was tropical in many parts of the coast and pre-coast, especially. Torrid minimum temperatures were even recorded, above 25 °C. This is the case of the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, where the 25.3 °C minimum recorded on Friday is the new provisional night heat record for May in 112 years of data, exceeding the previous record by 1.5 °C. Also noteworthy are the 25.7 °C minimum in Portbou (Alt Empordà), where on Thursday the temperature did not drop below 28 °C, the new record for the highest minimum in May in Catalonia. An extraordinary event very localized in this area due to the reheated tramuntana wind that blew there.

We have experienced the worst two days of this historic and premature heatwave, which on Thursday left many heat records for the month of May. The Lleida station, with 86 years of data, also broke its own May heat record, with 37.3 °C, and the centenary Ebre Observatory also broke its own May ceiling, with 37.3 °C. The city of Girona reached 37 °C in May for the first time since records began, and the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona also broke its own May heat record, with a maximum of 33.6 °C. Many other municipalities also reached their own heat record on Thursday.