Madrid
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‘Álex’ is going to be one of the earliest summer cyclones in Spain since records have been kept, one of the most advanced heat waves to date, since the one that began on June 11, 1981, says Rubén del Campo, spokesman of the State Meteorological Agency (
aemet). It meets the criteria of intensity, extension and duration so that it becomes the first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures above 40 degrees from Friday to Tuesday, June 14. In fact, Meteorology has already warned: it will arrive in our country next Friday, June 10, with temperatures of up to 42 degrees in some areas, which will last until next Tuesday.
Zaragoza and the entire Ebro valley could become the pan of the Peninsula during the weekend, with more than 41 degrees during the day and torrid nights above 22 degrees.
Even, Del Campo warns, it would not be strange if the night heat exceeded 25 degrees in different areas of the country and the areas most affected by these temperatures would be the Mediterranean, the south and the center of the peninsula.
The AEMET spokesman indicated that the worst days of heat will be Saturday and Tuesday, days in which 35 degrees Celsius (ºC) will be exceeded in large areas of the peninsular territory and the Balearic Islands and even 40ºC in the valleys of the Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Tajo and Ebro and it is not ruled out that in other points.
Why does this situation occur?
The situation is due to the fact that on the Peninsula there is a high pressure ridge with warm subtropical air that will stabilize the atmosphere “a lot” and the skies will remain with few clouds. The sun already in June warms the surface a lot and, since there is hardly any wind, the heat is distributed more.
In addition, the spokesman specifies that within the ridges the so-called subsidence phenomenon occurs, which generates even greater heating of the air and the surface. To all this, an area of low pressure in the Atlantic will be added on Sunday, which will send warm air from North Africa. He adds that this time the Canary Islands will be left out and will have temperatures “somewhat” above normal.
At the moment the temperatures of the last few days have already been very high, according to Aemet. Last Tuesday, June 7, 38ºC were reached in Montoro (Córdoba) and in Seville and during the early hours of Wednesday, June 8, the minimum was 23ºC in Ceuta, Melilla, Bailén and Cazorla (Jaén).
As for Thursday, June 9, it is expected that the wind will blow from the north and that clouds will arrive in the Bay of Biscay where there may be weak rainfall and in that area, as well as in the Ebro valley, thermometers will drop and cities such as San Sebastian, Pamplona or Vitoria they will not exceed 20 or 22ºC. In the rest of the country, according to the spokesperson for the State Agency, temperatures will rise to around 38ºC in the Guadalquivir valley.
Del Campo expects a “significant” rise in temperatures in the northern half and somewhat more moderate in the south, with slight drops in the Mediterranean. Friday will already be a “very hot” day with temperatures that will be between 5 and 10ºC higher than usual in much of the interior and that will reach 40ºC for example in Badajoz, Córdoba or Seville. In the Balearic Islands they will stay around 30ºC and on the Cantabrian coast they will not exceed 25ºC.
On Friday afternoon there will be clouds of evolution in mountain areas of the northern half and central zone, without ruling out a stormy shower on Saturday and Sunday and there will be a new general upturn in night and day temperatures. They will experience tropical nights on the Mediterranean coast, in the southern half, in the central zone and in the northeast, where the minimum temperatures they will not drop below 22ºC in the valleys of the Tagus, Guadiana and Guadalquivir and in large cities such as Madrid.
Del Campo predicts that on Saturday the maximum will exceed 35ºC in most of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, except in the north and temperatures will even reach 42ºC in Badajoz, Seville or Córdoba, and will be around 40ºC in Jaén, Toledo, Zaragoza, Cáceres or even in Logroño, Pamplona, Guadalajara or Madrid will reach 38ºC. “The coolest environment will have to be found in the Bay of Biscay, and in cities like Oviedo or San Sebastian they will stay at 25ºC,” says the Europa Press agency.
On Saturday and Sunday the cloudiness could leave some drizzle in the Bay of Biscay and again evolution clouds may grow in mountain areas and without ruling out the possibility of an isolated shower.
As of Monday, uncertainty about the temperature trend will grow, but the spokesman considers that the most likely scenario is that of a new increase in temperatures, so that day the atmosphere will be “very intense” in most of Spain. “We would speak of temperatures between ten and fifteen degrees above normal in the central hours of the day in much of the interior,” he commented.
The spokesman expects that from Tuesday the temperature will begin to drop in the northern and western thirds, although they could rebound in the Mediterranean. In any case, he affirms that it will continue to be a “very hot day in almost all of Spain” and with tropical nights in much of the territory and with torrid nights in parts of the southern half. In any case, given that the most likely scenarios point to a possible drop in temperatures, he trusts that the heat wave will end that day, although temperatures are still very high for the season.
Finally, the AEMET spokesman recalls that without counting the one to come, since 1975 Spain has registered ten heat waves in the month of Juneof which five have been registered since 2011. Thus, it indicates that if the next heat wave is confirmed, there will have been six heat waves in June in the last twelve years, which means an average of one every two years, facing five heat waves in the previous 35 years, that is, one every seven years.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism