After several days of unusually high temperatures for the time, the arrival of a storm to the west of the peninsula and a dense mass of Saharan dust It will mark a change in trend in this week’s meteorology. The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) warns of a worsening air quality and a notable drop in thermometers in the western half.
The anomalous heat for these dates will begin to subside starting this Wednesday. The drop in temperatures will be especially pronounced in the center and west of the peninsula, as well as in the Canary Islands. According to Servimedia, the most abrupt changes will be experienced in the north: Bilbao will register up to 9 degrees less than yesterday, while in Oviedo the drop will be 6 degrees and in A Coruña or San Sebastián 5 degrees.
However, this relief will not reach the entire territory equally. In the eastern half, temperatures will continue to rise, maintaining a very hot environment in cities like Murcia and Zaragoza, where 33 °C will be reachedfollowed by Granada (32 °C) and Lleida (31 °C). In contrast, the environment will be much cooler in the Cantabrian Sea, with maximums that will barely reach 18 °C in Oviedo or 20 °C in Santander.
Cloudy skies due to the Saharan haze
On the other hand, the haze episode that began this Tuesday will continue this Wednesday with suspended dust, especially in the eastern half of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. According to the AEMET, this phenomenon will not only reduce visibility, but will cause a significant worsening of air quality.
The dust in suspension belongs to a large Saharan mass that in the coming days It will cover a good part of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and areas of the Middle Eastaccording to the Barcelona Dust Regional Center, belonging to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Instability and storms
The AEMET indicates that a storm located to the west of the peninsula will move slightly to the northwest and will leave a less hot environment in the western half of the peninsula than in the eastern half. Low clouds are expected in the morning in the west of the peninsula and the Strait, which in the central hours of the day will extend to the Cantabrian Sea and could leave some isolated drizzle.
The greatest instability will be concentrated in mountain areas. Showers with storms are expected in the Pyrenees, the Maestrazgo and the southeastern mountains, with the possibility of them being locally strong, especially in the Pyrenees. For its part, in the Canary Islands, cloudy skies will predominate with rain on the northern slopes of the most prominent islands.
Time change and arrival of a DANA
Starting on Thursday, the arrival of a DANA in southern Spain will favor the appearance of storms with heavy rain, hail and strong gusts of wind in large areas of the countryaccording to Meteored forecasts.
On Friday, the trough will begin to enter the west of the peninsula. More intense rain and storms will affect Castilla y León, Asturias, interior of Galicia, Cantabria, Basque Country, Pyrenees of Huesca, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia and Melillawithout ruling out that they may ultimately intensify in the Murcia Region.
During the Saturdaythe DANA will have broken off from the general circulation, and will tend to be located in the south of the peninsula. In this scenario, the downpours could download quite strongly at points of Andalusia, Region of Murcia, Extremadura, west of Castilla-La Mancha and south of the Valencian Community.
In the second half of the day, rainfall would be concentrated in the southeast, Andalusia, Pyrenees and west-northwest communities. On Sunday, DANA would move to the Mediterranean, and although the risk of showers persists, these will generally be weaker and more dispersed, according to Meteored.