The most intense heat will give us only two days of respite
Temperatures will temporarily drop on the first day of July, while waiting for the 40 ºC to return on the weekend
BarcelonaThe heat was very intense and suffocating this Tuesday, with maximums that rose more, especially on the pre-littoral, in Central Catalonia and in the south. Temperatures neared 40 ºC in the Ebro basin, and even exceeded 38 ºC on the pre-littoral. Benissanet (Ribera d'Ebre) recorded the day's maximum in Catalonia, with 39.7 ºC. In addition, 39.3 ºC was reached at the Siurana reservoir, 39 ºC in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre), 38.7 ºC in Sant Salvador de Guardiola (Bages), and 38.4 ºC in Vacarisses (Vallès Occidental). All this after another sleepless night, especially near the sea, with tropical minimums in many places and torrid in some coastal stretches. Notable were the 27.3 ºC in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona due to the heat island effect, and the 26.5 ºC minimum in Espolla (Alt Empordà) due to the re-heated tramuntana wind.
Between Wednesday and Thursday, the north wind will strengthen in the extremities and temperatures will generally drop, especially in the interior and the Pyrenees. A brief respite to start the month of July that will not be as marked on the coast, but which will make nights more comfortable outside the littoral. But all this will not last long, because the week will end again with a gust of extreme heat that will bring back the 40 ºC.
Wednesday: temperature drop
July will begin this Wednesday with the mistral and tramuntana winds strengthening in the extremes, with particular strength in the Empordà region. A slightly cooler air mass at altitude will cause temperatures to drop, both minimum and maximum. Many values will hover between 30 and 35°C, slightly higher in the warmest areas of the south and west, and lower in mountainous areas.
Less extreme heat that will not prevent a new tropical or torrid night near the sea and in areas of Empordà where the tramuntana blows heated. The Meteocat maintains alerts for night heat in coastal stretches, as well as for daytime heat on the coast between Montsià and Tarragonès.
All in all with plenty of sun and calm, but during the morning there will be more cloud intervals between Girona and Barcelona, as well as some first showers on the northern face of the Pyrenees. In the afternoon, clouds will grow in the north of the country, leaving irregular showers and thunderstorms, especially in the eastern Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees, as well as in other parts of the northeastern interior. Meteocat maintains the alert for possible downpours accompanied by hail in these sectors.
New extreme heat wave in sight
The night from Wednesday to Thursday will be cooler and more breathable, and tropical minimums will remain more concentrated on the coast. During the day, thermometers will begin to rise slightly after Wednesday's drop, but still without extremes. It will be from Friday when the mercury will shoot up more, and towards the weekend suffocating heat will dominate again.
A new gust of very warm air will reach us and the anticyclone will strengthen. A combination that will bring us extreme heat again and 40°C in the most torrid areas of the interior. This episode will once again affect several countries in western and central Europe in the coming days. We will see if it is as intense as the last historic heatwave.