While the worst of the heat wave will end this week, the worst of the summer is yet to come. A summer that we could say has been advanced at least six days since temperatures more typical of July / August have been recorded in many parts of the country: up to 42ºC there were in places like the south of Andalusia, Madrid or Pamplona.
Positive thermal anomalies continue, especially in the sea and, above all, in the Mediterranean where there are points that exceed 27ºC, when they should be 23-24ºC. What consequences will this have?
An extraordinarily warm sea is what need a summer to be equally hot. During this season the most frequent wind is the sea breeze, which is what can soften the temperatures or, on the contrary, cause them to increase considerably, which is what can happen this year as shown in the latest seasonal forecast from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
Although, in addition to heat, what could happen is that it rained torrentially, water that is always very much needed in this part of Spain during the hottest months of the year. These precipitations occur due to the fact that an Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA), which is characterized by bringing very cold air to high levels of the atmosphere, is located in the Mediterranean Sea, which towards the end of summer (or at the beginning, as is happening this year) has very high temperatures (27-30ºC).
Image obtained with a combination of data from the infrared channels of the NOAA-19 satellite that shows the sea temperature.
Image - Screenshot of the AEMET website
This difference in thermal values destabilizes the atmosphere- Air masses rise rapidly and quickly become saturated, leading to these heavy rains.
While a storm is unlikely to arrive for at least these next two months, the possibility is there. Even so, towards the beginning of autumn the rains are very common, so if you are one of those who enjoy them, you will not have to wait long 🙂.