Spain weather: drastic shift from hailstorms to intense heat

Weather

Although the week has started with downpours, temperatures will significantly increase towards the weekend

SUR

With the weather forecast in hand, many people will once again reach for a familiar phrase that seems to be cropping up more and more often: "The weather's gone mad."

Judging by Meteored's outlook for this week, with its sharp swings in conditions, it is hard to argue otherwise.

The weather portal says the week will begin with highly unsettled conditions across much of mainland Spain. It also warns of five afternoons of thunderstorms that could bring heavy rain, hail and strong winds.

Towards the weekend, however, temperatures could rise significantly, with some models even suggesting the possibility of a heatwave.

From midday on Monday, there could be intense storms in Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Aragón, Cantabria and the north-east of Andalucía, with the possibility of hail and strong gusts of wind.

On Tuesday afternoon, the storms will persist in the same areas and could even intensify in the Iberian System, Castilla-La Mancha and the south-eastern mountain ranges.

Looking ahead to Wednesday, there will be some rainfall, mainly in Castilla y León, the interior of Galicia, the Cantabrian mountains, La Rioja and western Aragón, more scattered in other areas of western Spain, the Pyrenees and the Andalusian mountains.

Stabilising weather conditions

On Thursday, the downpours will be concentrated in Castilla y León, areas of the Cantabrian slope and Extremadura, with more scattered showers in other mountain ranges and some isolated rains in the region of Valencia.

Storms will continue in the north and north-west on Friday. Rainfall accumulations will be highly variable throughout the week, potentially exceeding 60mm in some areas.

In the Canary Islands, rain is expected in the north due to the trade winds. Over the weekend, the weather will stabilise, with fewer storms and an increase in intense heat.

A weekend of high temperatures

According to Meteored's forecast, a period of very high temperatures will start over the weekend. "The European model points to above-average temperatures across much of Spain, with the most significant anomalies in the central and northern regions, where they could be up to 4C above normal for mid-June."

Looking ahead to the weekend, there is some uncertainty.

"Some models predict a gradual rise in temperatures with close to 40C in the south, while others foresee the formation of a 'dana' off the west coast of mainland Spain that could bring in a very warm air mass and even trigger the first heatwave of the summer," Meteored says.

Today's weather forecast for Malaga province