We will still have to sweat profusely this weekend

BarcelonaAlthough the heatwave has technically ended and we haven't reached 40°C in Catalonia for two days, the fact is that the heat remains very intense everywhere. Yesterday there was a torrid peak in the northeast, where, as in Ponent, 38°C was reached, in Girona municipalities such as Cabanes, la Bisbal d'Empordà or the Darnius-Boadella reservoir. A suffocating atmosphere with marked humidity on the coast, which will continue throughout this last weekend of June, with values ​​still more than five degrees above the average in many cases. All this with sun, calm and afternoon showers only tomorrow in the Pyrenees.

We continue under the effects of the anticyclonic ridge and the influx of very warm air and suspended dust from North Africa. The highlight of the heatwave continues to punish Europe and is currently located in the center of the continent, where new records are expected throughout this weekend. Next week the thermometers will drop, but the latest maps reduce the possibility of a significant cooling.

Saturday: sun and very hot

Temperatures will undergo few changes on the first day of the weekend. The night has once again been mild to warm in many regions, with tropical lows in many places and some torrid ones, especially in the city of Barcelona, where they have not dropped below 25 °C. To find cool nighttime temperatures, we had to go to valleys in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees and nearby areas (11 °C in Sant Pau de Segúries and 12 °C in Sort).

Maximum temperatures will be similar to yesterday's, with intense heat. Sultriness and values above 30 °C on the coast, and between 34 °C and 38 °C inland, the highest in Ponent and the Ebro interior. All this with sun, calm, and suspended dust. There may only be some low clouds or morning mist in stretches of the coast – especially the Ebro – and harmless afternoon cloudbursts in the Pyrenees. Choppy sea on the coast in the morning and swell at midday, with a weak sea breeze.

Sunday: afternoon showers in the Pyrenees

The novelty this Sunday will be that in the afternoon showers will reappear in parts of the Pyrenees, especially the western ones. It is also not ruled out that in the afternoon some rain may reach Ponent from Aragon. Nuances in a context of calm and sun in the whole country, as well as heat.

It will again be a very warm and stuffy day, with maximums that will even rise further south. Temperatures will reach 39°C or locally 40°C between the interior of the Ebro and Ponent, with many maximums of 34°C to 38°C inland, and again above 30°C on the coast, where the atmosphere will be heavy. On the other hand, where it rains in the afternoon, the mercury will drop suddenly.

Heat increasingly less extreme

Looking ahead to next week, thermometers will be dropping, especially towards Wednesday. The weakening of the warm North African air mass will allow for this drop in mercury. But everything seems to indicate that this thermal drop will be less significant than the forecasts of the last few days suggested.

A situation that we will have to follow closely, as for now it seems that it will be difficult for thermometers to fully normalize. All this with afternoon showers that will gain ground in the northern half of the country.