The heatwave gives no respite the first weekend of August

BarcelonaDespite temperatures having dropped slightly inland and in the northern half of the country, this Friday we said goodbye to July once again with a lot of heat. Localized 40°C temperatures were reached again inland, for example in Solsona. The novelty was the reappearance of showers and thunderstorms in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, with lightning that even caused some forest fires. Showers that may persist until dinner time, especially in the eastern sector of this area, and also in nearby areas and the Ports. On Saturday, we will repeat a similar situation to Friday's, while on Sunday there will be a new torrid peak. Therefore, August arrives this weekend with the continuity of a heatwave that is particularly affecting the interior and which will continue next week. All this after five absolute heat records were broken on Thursday in stations in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees with more than twenty years of data from Meteocat.

Saturday: new afternoon showers

Temperatures will remain similar or without major changes on the first day of August. The night will again be mild to warm in many regions and cool in mountainous areas. Many tropical lows will be repeated, and scorching hot near the sea and in the south. Alerts for nighttime heat remain in some regions this weekend.

As for the maximums, they may slightly decrease in the north of the country, while they will rise in Alt Empordà and nearby areas. Be that as it may, it will continue to be very hot in general and markedly muggy on the coast. Many values will range between 33 °C and 38 °C in the pre-coastal areas and inland, slightly higher in parts of Ponent, where heat alerts remain active.

The sun will combine with some traces of clouds and suspended dust, while in the afternoon showers and storms will repeat in parts of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, especially the eastern ones, without ruling out some downpours with hail. Showers are also expected in the Ports area which may reach weakened to more places in the Ebro. Meteocat has activated the alert for intense rain in the eastern Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees.

Sunday: new heatwave

Thermometers will once again take a step forward and a new peak of intense heat will occur. Many highs of 35 °C to 40 °C are expected in the pre-coastal areas and inland, the highest in Ponent. Another suffocating day in general and muggy near the sea, which will be accompanied by plenty of sun and calm, as well as suspended dust. Afternoon showers will decrease, and only a few insignificant ones will fall in parts of the Pyrenees and Ports.

Without a clear end to the intense heat

The episode of intense heat we are experiencing seems to be extending longer than expected, for practically the entire next week. Thermometers will suffer some ups and downs, but will always remain above average, and will exceed heat thresholds in inland regions, where this new and long heatwave will persist. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, showers could reach more regions in the northern half on a transitional basis.