Catalonia has reached a new absolute heat record in May. The 39.5 ºC recorded in Vinebre (Ribera d’Ebre) is the highest temperature ever reached in this month, surpassing the previous record: 38.5 ºC in May 2022 in Castellbisbal and Anglès, and matched on Thursday also in Vinebre.
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The minimum temperatures on the night from Thursday to Friday were also extremely hot in Catalonia, as they exceeded 20 ºC in large areas of the central coast and pre-coast and the Cap de Creus, according to the Meteorological Service of Catalonia.
The 24.9 ºC minimum at the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona is the record for a May in 112 years of data, above the 23.8 ºC on May 26, 1922.
Records were also set at state stations. On Wednesday the 27th, 36 ºC was reached for the first time in May in the city of Zamora, when the previous record was 35.1 ºC, recorded in May last year, with a series over a century old.
On Thursday, the 37.3 ºC measured at the Roquetes station in Tortosa (province of Tarragona) stood out, surpassing the previous year’s record (2024) by 1.2 ºC; the station has data for over a century.
Persistent heat
Intense heat will persist over the weekend except in the Cantabrian communities, where temperatures will gradually decrease, with some storms in mountainous areas.
This was indicated by the spokesperson of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), Rubén del Campo, in a message posted on the agency’s Telegram account, where he points to “values that again break records,” with “extraordinarily high” temperatures for this time of year until next Tuesday in most of the country.
The spokesperson anticipates that there will be “summer-like temperatures for the rest of the week,” although on Monday the “most significant change” in the weather will occur in the Cantabrian communities, where temperatures will progressively drop to “more normal” values.
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A decrease is also expected in the northern Mediterranean area, although in the rest of Spain “intense, midsummer heat with temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees above normal” is expected in most of the country, which will continue to be the trend in most of the country.
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Tropical nights
The meteorological agency points out that in parts of the Ebro Valley, 38 degrees could be reached this Friday and 36 degrees on Sunday, a level that could also occur in the center and much of the southern half of the country, including Madrid. In the Guadalquivir area, it is not ruled out that thermometers will continue to rise even up to 40 degrees.
Tropical nights are also expected until Monday in the Mediterranean, in the center and in the southern peninsula, and there will be an increase in atmospheric instability, which “will favor the formation of storms in the east of the Peninsula, especially in mountainous areas” and will include hail in the Pyrenees and the Iberian system.
Temperature drop from Tuesday
Although Aemet warns of increased uncertainty in the forecast from next Tuesday, most scenarios consider a temperature drop in much of the country for Tuesday, which will be “notable” in some points in the north and west of the peninsula. However, Del Campo notes that “since we come from such intense heat for the time of year, even if that drop occurs, we will continue with above-normal temperatures.” For example, Madrid, Zaragoza, or Girona will range between 30 and 32 degrees on Tuesday while in the south values will remain very high, with 38 degrees in Murcia, Seville, Málaga, or Córdoba.
In contrast, in the Cantabrian communities, temperatures will range, according to estimates, between 23 and 25 degrees, with isolated rain and storms in mountainous areas in the north and east.
The forecast also considers it likely that the temperature drop will continue in the following days with the arrival of westerly winds, which will cause, despite being cooler, intense heat in the Valencian Community and the Murcia region.
From Tuesday, the predictions show great uncertainty, without ruling out intense heat. “What does seem quite likely is that except in the Cantabrian area, where temperatures will be dropping, we will have very unusual heat for May,” says Del Campo.
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