Weekend of lower temperatures and rain before the burst of heat

This weekend there will be a brief truce in the sky and in the thermometers that will be the prelude to a very powerful and very unusual warm episode at the end of April.

The cause of the change in weather is the passage of an Atlantic front, which will drop temperatures significantly, but temporarily, and will leave scattered rains and showers over large areas of the country this Friday and Saturday.

“In general, it will not be a question of significant accumulated water, although in the surroundings of the Pyrenees there may be showers accompanied by locally strong storms.

In the rest, little water, in the best of cases between 5 and 10 liters per square meter, and between now and the end of the month, little rainfall”, Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) clarifies.

behind the front,

More information

Aemet announces an episode with temperatures typical of July for next week

With the arrival of the front,

it will rain in Galicia, Asturias, western Castilla y León and northern Extremadura.

In the rest of the interior the clouds will increase, with possible scattered stormy showers in the afternoon, which will be, in general, warm.

On

, the front will finish crossing the Peninsula with stormy showers that, locally, could be strong in points in the north of Navarra and, above all, in the surroundings of the Aragonese and Catalan Pyrenees.

In the rest, scattered showers, especially in the first half of the day and with a tendency to decrease in the afternoon.

Temperatures will drop 5° in general - in the north and east more, from 6° to 8° -, so normal values ​​are expected for April after many hot days.

The maximum will stay between 18° and 25°, somewhat higher in points of the southern third, so the environment will not be cold, just normal.

Starting

,

high pressures will return, which will guarantee stable weather.

The stability will translate into slightly cloudy skies in almost all of Spain, although it could still rain in the extreme north and some afternoon showers fall in mountain areas of the rest.

Although the early hours of Sunday to Monday will be cooler than those of previous days, the temperatures will begin a progressive and generalized escalation on Sunday that will continue throughout the following days, both day and night.

Weekend forecast: a front will enter the west of the Peninsula at the end of Friday and will bring isolated showers that will cross the country from west to east, more intense in the Pyrenees.

Temperatures drop around 5ºC on Saturday and rise again on Sunday.

pic.twitter.com/VETRCPtyVV

– AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) April 21, 2023

Thus, in the bulk of the country, the sun will shine brightly, to which will be added the arrival of a mass of very warm air from low latitudes.

Both ingredients will cause "a very unusual warm episode for the time due to its intensity."

The average temperature, between the maximum and the minimum, will be between 6° and 10° above normal in most of Spain next week.

“It will be a more typical week in the second half of June than in late April and even in some areas, early July.

In the northeast of the Peninsula, the center and the south, temperatures will exceed 30° and could even exceed 35° in the Tagus, Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys in the second half of the week”, advances Del Campo.

As of

, temperatures will be above normal in many parts of the country, but "the most anomalous situation will extend from Tuesday to at least Thursday or Friday."

Although there are still days to go and these forecasts may vary, "we could be facing one of the most intense warm episodes recorded in the month of April in our country since data is available," warns the Aemet spokesman.

Left: maximum temperatures forecast for April 26, 2023.

Right: average maximum temperatures in June for the period 1991-2020.

Conclusion: next April 26 would be a warmer than normal day even in June.

Maps by @crballesteros pic.twitter.com/S8jhnOeCZB

– Rubén del Campo (@Rub_dc) April 20, 2023

On Monday it will exceed 25° in large areas of the center, south and east of the Peninsula, and even 30°/32° in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys.

On

it cannot be ruled out that cities like Córdoba or Seville are around 34°/35°, with more than 30° again in large areas of the center and south of the peninsula.

On

, in principle, temperatures will continue to rise, especially in the north.

They may exceed 30° in points in the south of Galicia, the northern plateau and the Ebro basin, 32° in large areas of the southern plateau and 34°/35° in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys.

"The daytime temperatures will be typical of the beginning of the month of July, of midsummer," contextualizes Del Campo.

How long is it going to last?

At the moment, it is difficult to specify: "With the forecasts currently available, it is possible that the situation will continue through Thursday and Friday, with temperatures more or less similar or even slightly higher on Thursday

"

According to the Aemet website, that day it will be 39° in Córdoba and Seville, 38° in Badajoz, 36° in Granada and Jaén, and 35° in Albacete, Ciudad Real, Toledo and Zaragoza.

The

of this episode is a worsening of the drought.

Next week will be very dry: scarce rains are expected during the first half and limited to the extreme north.

“It is increasingly likely that the month will end up being the driest April in the historical series, that is, since at least 1961, since until the 18th we have only collected five liters per square meter.

And during this Friday and Saturday we are not expecting large quantities”, concludes Del Campo.

The temperatures that we expect for the last week of April will be typical of the last week of June: they will be between 6 and 10 ºC above the normal average in most of Spain.

pic.twitter.com/6asPBqafCk

– AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) April 21, 2023