MADRID, 24 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
An air mass from North Africa, which could be the warmest to settle over the Peninsula on these dates since 1980, will take thermometers up to 15 degrees above normal, to exceptionally high values ??for these dates, since it They may touch or reach 40 degrees Celsius (ºC), “something absolutely extraordinary in April”, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
In addition to the low latitude air mass, which will arrive overheated after passing through Africa, it will add to atmospheric stability, which will allow the sun to shine, which at this time of year is already heating up and will give rise to an episode of exceptional temperatures.
The AEMET spokesman, Rubén del Campo, states that this air mass that will visit the Peninsula in the coming days could be “the warmest that has been located over Spain for these dates in at least the last 43 years” and will give rise to at exceptionally high values ??that can pulverize the heat records for the month of April by more than 5 degrees Celsius.
Specifically, he explained that the thermometers began to rise on Sunday after a brief heat break on Saturday, when the mercury returned to its more or less normal values ??with respect to the weather. Thus, the maximum and minimum temperatures will continue to rise and Thursday and Friday will be the hottest days, in a situation of high temperatures.
From Tuesday they will be between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius above normal in most of the Peninsula and between Thursday and Friday between 10 and 15 degrees above average and could even be more than 15 degrees above normal on Friday in points of the south of the Peninsula.
The spokesperson indicates that they will only get rid of this heat on the Atlantic coast of Galicia and in the Cantabrian Sea, although in the interior of these communities it may exceed 25ºC, the same as on the Catalan coast and in the north of the Valencian Community.
Nighttime temperatures will also rise, which will be high for the time of year and from Thursday it will be possible to register tropical nights –of more than 20ºC– in the southern part of the Peninsula and the Mediterranean area.
The situation could continue until Saturday when a somewhat cooler Atlantic air mass would begin to enter, although that day will still be very hot in the east of the Peninsula and in the Balearic Islands, where both areas may exceed 35ºC.
In the Canary Islands the temperatures will also be high for the time of year but not so high and on Wednesday and Thursday it could exceed 30 degrees in points of Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.
As for rainfall, this last week of April is not expected, although it is not ruled out that next weekend it could rain in some areas of the north, but in no case will it be abundant.
With this panorama, Del Campo warns that the risk of fires will be very high in the east of the Peninsula until Wednesday and from Thursday the risk will be very high or extreme and will spread to large areas of the Peninsula. He also asks the spokesman to be very careful when exposing himself to the sun because the ultraviolet radiation index already presents very high values.
Specifically, this Monday it is expected that temperatures will exceed 32ºC in the Guadalquivir valley, that the skies will be practically clear throughout the country and there will be hardly any rain except in parts of Galicia.
On Tuesday the high pressures will continue and warm air will arrive, which will cause a new increase in temperatures both at night and during the day, especially in the southeast, where they may rise by 6 or 8ºC compared to Monday and thus exceed 28ºC in large areas of the territory and even 34ºC in the Guadalquivir valley, points in the Murcia region and the Valencian Community. There could only be some rain that day on Tuesday in the extreme north of the Peninsula and a storm in Catalonia is not ruled out.
On Wednesday there will be a new thermal rise except on the shores of the Mediterranean, where the breezes will blow and they will descend slightly. That day it will exceed 32ºC in the Ebro valley, in the interior of the Valencian Community, points of Castilla-La Mancha, southern Extremadura and large areas of Andalusia.
In the Guadalquivir valley on Wednesday they will exceed 35ºC and even in Córdoba or Seville they will be around 37ºC, so they could exceed their respective thermal record for the month of April, of 34ºC in Córdoba and 35.4ºC in Seville. “This gives an idea of ??the extraordinaryness of the episode, since these records can be broken widely,” he comments.
On Wednesday it does not seem likely that it will rain except for some showers in mountain areas.
Thus, the spokesman points out that Thursday and Friday will be the hottest days since temperatures will exceed 30ºC in many areas of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. For example, he points out that in Madrid they will be around 31 or 32ºC, when their record in April is 30.1ºC.
Even these days it could reach 40ºC. On Friday they will reach 34 or 35ºC in the Ebro valley and in the southern half. In Zaragoza they could exceed 35ºC and would far exceed the heat record in April for the tricky capital, of 32.4ºC. Meanwhile, in the Guadalquivir valley it can exceed 38ºC, a figure that is far from its heat record of 32.4ºC in April.
“It cannot be completely ruled out that in the Guadalquivir valley they could reach 40ºC and that in April in Spain would be something absolutely extraordinary, but in any case, even if we focus on that value because of its symbolism, already exceeding 38ºC in full The month of April would be something absolutely extraordinary in the Guadalquivir valley, it is something unusual and very outstanding”, he analyzed.
Regarding the clouds, it does not rule out that on Thursday and Friday the cloudiness increases, which increases the uncertainty of the forecast, so that in some areas the temperature may not rise as much.
Regarding the minimums, they will also gradually rise and on Friday tropical nights will appear in the south of the Peninsula, in cities such as Almería, Alicante, Jaén or Málaga.
Those clouds that will arrive on Thursday and Friday will not leave precipitation or, at most, some isolated shower in mountain areas.
Saturday will be a new “extremely hot” day for the season in the east of the peninsula and in the Balearic Islands, with a maximum temperature of more than 35ºC. On Sunday there will be a general drop in thermometers that will put an end to this “extremely warm” episode.
However, that day, on Sunday, the thermometers in the Mediterranean could pick up. Regarding the rains, he does not expect much precipitation over the weekend either, if anything in the extreme north of the peninsula and without ruling out that it could spread to other points in the north.
