Possible first heatwave of summer in Catalonia in the coming days

The heatwave gives no respite and in these last hours it has intensified a little more. Yesterday, maximum temperatures widely exceeded 35°C in Ponent and in the south. Notably, 37.5°C were reached in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) and 37.4°C in Seròs (Segrià). But locally, 37°C were also recorded in some other inland locations, such as Artés (Bages). Today we will add a few more degrees, and in the coming days temperatures will remain very high for the season, with values more typical of the summer dog days than mid-June, and tropical nights will occur in coastal areas. In fact, it is probable that from the end of the week the first heatwave of summer will arrive in Catalonia, with extreme heat that will push the mercury up to 40°C for the first time this year in the hottest inland areas. Meteocat has already issued a prior warning in this regard for intense heat between Sunday and at least Tuesday.

This fact will coincide fully with the official arrival, on Sunday, of the astronomical summer and Saint John. All this is the result of a gust of very warm air coming from North Africa and an anticyclone that will affect a large part of Europe in the coming days, and which will bring widespread runaway heat.

Wednesday: even higher temperatures

Temperatures will remain well above what is normal for this time of year, and will even rise further this Wednesday. The night has been generally mild to cool, with considerable cold still in mountainous areas and nearby zones. But tropical minimums have been repeated in coastal stretches and in some pre-coastal locations, especially in densely populated areas that facilitate the urban heat island effect, as well as elevated areas in these sectors. It will be very hot at midday, with most highs between 31 °C and 36 °C, and marked mugginess along the coast. But 37 or 38 °C will be approached or exceeded in parts of Ponent and the southern interior.

All in all with sun in general and haziness due to the presence of suspended dust. Afternoon clouds will grow again in the Pyrenees area, where some irregular, insignificant showers will be repeated, locally with some thunderstorms.

Possible torrid heatwave at the end of the week

The heatwave will not ease in the coming days and thermometers will continue to soar, both day and night. A situation that will spread to a large part of Europe, especially the center, south, and west of the continent. Maps indicate that from the weekend, the warm peak of this episode could arrive in our area, with a heatwave that would last at least until Saint John's Day. It would then be when 40 °C could be reached for the first time this year in Ponent and the Ebro valley, without ruling them out in other inland areas.

We will see how high the mercury climbs and what the scope of this extreme heat situation is. In any case, we will have to sweat profusely for many more days, and there is no clear end in sight for this long and extraordinary heat episode. Sun and anticyclonic calm will continue to dominate, and there will be African dust in suspension and some afternoon showers in the Pyrenees.