The torrid heat has its days numbered: Wednesday, storms and a general cool-down
The models indicate the arrival of a trough with cold air that will affect several regions
BarcelonaThe runaway heat that continues to set temperature records across the country is numbered. This Saturday, the highest maximum for a September since 1914 was once again recorded at the Fabra Observatory, reaching 35.3 °C. With this historic value, there are now four records broken in the city of Barcelona since the beginning of the month. In Ponent, in the interior of the Ebro, and in regions like Priorat, temperatures have reached or neared 40 °C again, with a new September record at 64 of the 128 #XEMA stations with more than twenty years of data.
This atypical and exceptional heat for these dates (at the very least, so sustained over time) will come to an end by the middle of next week. Monday will still be very hot, with a slight drop in the thermometer of a couple of degrees. The mugginess will still be acute on the coast, where the heat will be sticky, with thermometers still approaching 32 °C or 33 °C, and in the interior, they will still exceed 37 °C or 38 °C.
Starting Tuesday, however, thermometers will begin to normalize in the Pyrenees, and some first thunderstorms could appear in the Lleida sector. In the rest of the country, however, it will still be hot.
The change will arrive –finally– on Wednesday. The models indicate the arrival of a trough with cold air at altitude that will make the weather more unstable in many regions. Right now, strong thunderstorms are expected in many parts of Central Catalonia, the Pyrenees, the Pre-Pyrenees, and the northeast. The storms will be violent and will leave abundant and intense rain (30 or 40 mm in half an hour), with strong gusts of wind, hail, and large-diameter hail. The strong contrast between the cold mass coming from the Atlantic and the warm one that is above us will generate powerful clouds; therefore, it will be necessary to be alert to this situation due to the possibility of downpours or flash floods.
With the arrival of the colder air mass, the environment will normalize and cool down, especially in the interior and the Pyrenees. On Wednesday, temperatures will no longer exceed 32°C in Ponent, and in the rest of the territory, the thermometer will range between 22°C and 26°C. Thursday morning is expected to be cold in the Pyrenees, with values close to 10°C in the valleys. In the interior, the minimum will range between 12°C and 16°C, and on the coast, it will drop to 18°C. During the afternoon, thunderstorms will reactivate on the north central coast and in the interior of the Girona regions, with some storms still strong, but more localized and of shorter duration. Elsewhere it will be sunnier, especially in Ponent and the south.
For the Diada, on Friday, we expect calmer weather and the sun will shine across most of the country, with the exception of some clouds on the coast or some residual afternoon showers in the northeast. The environment will be cool in the early morning and pleasant during the day, with highs around 27°C on the coast and between 28°C and 32°C in the interior. Everything indicates that the temperature will remain in check, with no new heatwaves expected, and the weather will continue to be stable for the weekend of September 12 and 13.
