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WEATHER

Spain to swelter under ‘final’ heatwave of the summer

The intense heat that Spain has been experiencing this summer so far is due to end on Sunday, August 14th, bringing a welcome respite from scorching temperatures, forecasters say.

row boat in Madrid
Spain will experience final heatwave of the summer before ending on Sunday. Photo: THOMAS COEX / AFP

The swelteringly hot weather will continue over the next few days and will rise to 35C across much of the country between Thursday and Saturday, before finally subsiding on Sunday, according to Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET.

AEMET spokesperson Rubén del Campo described the next few days as “the final firecracker” of the summer.

“We have endured very high temperatures without a break since the beginning of July,” he continued.  

Del Campo has indicated that the Mediterranean regions and the Balearic Islands on Friday and Saturday will be “especially hot”, possibly reaching 40C, and added that the nights will be hot too, with temperatures over 25C.

Cooler days from Sunday  

On Sunday the intense heat will give way and Spain will experience much cooler weather, according to AEMET predictions.

“As of Sunday we expect a change in the prevailing atmospheric conditions,” explained del Campo, who said that Spain will experience cooler surface air, which will cause a drop in temperatures “in most of the country”.  

Forecasts show that from Sunday there will be a thermal relief and thermometers will even record cooler values ​​than normal for this time of year in the west of the Peninsula.  

Storms have also been predicted following the “sharp drop” in temperatures, which will mostly be seen in the northeast of the country and in the Pyrenees.  

“It is likely that the temperature drop will continue during the first days of next week, with the arrival of successive troughs that will lead to rain,” Del Campo said.   

However, AEMET notes that the temperature drop will take longer to be noted in the southern and eastern parts of the country, as well as in the Balearic Islands, where the mercury will remain higher for longer.

Sea temperatures remain high 

Del Campo has warned that despite the cooling temperatures, the sea will remain much warmer than normal, particularly between the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region.

On August 9th the Puertos del Estado buoy in Valencia reached a record water temperature of 29.7C, one degree more than the previous thermal record, which was recorded in August 2015.

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WEATHER

Storm Nelson dampens Spain’s Semana Santa celebrations

Storm Nelson has soaked parts of Spain during its famous Semana Santa celebrations, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, waves, and cancelling processions across the country.

Storm Nelson dampens Spain's Semana Santa celebrations

In some parts of the country, Spain’s Semana Santa celebrations have been something of a washout this year. Storm Nelson has brought fierce winds, waves and heavy rain, cancelling many Easter processions.

Winds of up to 140km/hr in parts of north western Spain left several people injured, and even caused some flights to be redirected or cancelled.

READ ALSO: Strike action at Spanish airports set to disrupt Easter travel

As such, Spain’s state meteorological Aemet has implemented severe weather warnings in many parts of the country.

There are serious orange-level warnings in the north west of the country, particularly on the Galician and Asturian coast, and yellow-level warnings across large swathes of northern Spain, as well as in the south-west and south-east, particularly on the Mediterranean coast.

You can find a full breakdown of the weather alerts on the Aemet website here.

Sadly, the weather doesn’t look as though it will improve over the Easter weekend. Storm Nelson is not directly above Spain, but weather fronts connected to it will sweep across the peninsula over the next few days.

On Maundy Thursday, a cold front will remain stationary over Spain, spreading across most of the country from southwest to northeast. Rain will be particularly heavy in the southwest and west of the country, notably in cities famous for Semana Santa processions such as Seville and Málaga.

Rainfall could exceed 50-60 mm in areas of Huelva, Seville, Badajoz, Córdoba and Ciudad Real, according to El Tiempo. Strong winds will continue throughout the day.

In parts of Castilla y León, Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, rainfall will be weaker but could still amount to more than 10mm in large areas.

Good Friday is also forecast to be another wet day in many parts of the country. Waves could exceed 5 metres in areas of the Atlantic, the Bay of Biscay and also in the Mediterranean, especially around the Balearic Islands. Friday could also see strong gusts, especially in the early hours of the morning.

Saturday will be another unstable day, with heavy rain forecast in the west and along the Atlantic coast. Aemet forecasts show storms and even potentially lightning over the weekend that will begin to ease in the early hours of Easter Monday. Initial forecasts predict the rains could finally cease by Monday evening.

Aemet gave a pretty succinct forecast on its Twitter/X account yesterday: “Storm Nelson will leave rain, snowfall and strong winds during the next few days.”

As is clear from the Aemet graphic below, Spain is set for several days of heavy rain and wind over the Easter weekend.

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