The summer, which begins this June 21, is expected to be very hot again and with "more abundant" storms than other years, after the warmest spring in the last 62 years, according to the forecast of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet ). It is yet to be determined if it will surpass that of 2022, but meteorologists say that "it could be among the 5 warmest in the last 30 years."
Same weather forecast for Catalonia, where the authorities are also forecasting a very hot summer like last year. The temperatures will not only be high during the day, but the minimum will also be high at night.
According to the Aemet delegate in Catalonia, Ramón Pascual, tropical nights with lows above 20 degrees are expected. These will be recorded "until the month of September", something that has happened in recent years and no change in trend is expected in this regard.
The difference compared to the summer of 2022 is that there will be more rain in Catalonia, "although as summer rainfall is normally scarce, this higher value will not remove the drought." Pascual has insisted that spring has been very dry and warm in Catalonia, the same as in Spain as a whole, although "the month of May has been relatively rainy and with normal temperatures".
Before the start of the summer, the reservoirs of Catalonia were at 30% of their capacity. The lack of rain has kept more than a hundred municipalities in exceptional water conditions since last month, that is, with restrictions on water in agricultural, industrial and recreational uses, although without affecting household water.
Summer opens in Catalonia with showers and storms on Wednesday afternoon, which will probably be locally strong in parts of the western Pyrenees. The temperatures will increase slightly or without changes. In all the provincial capitals, temperatures will exceed 30ºC, except in Tarragona. The maximum, in Girona.
By the end of the week, temperatures are expected to rise. The maximum could exceed 30 ºC for several days and could reach 38 on Sunday in Lleida. Given this prolonged episode, the Aemet does not rule out that we are experiencing the first heat wave of summer 2023.
According to the agency, a heat wave is an episode of at least three consecutive days in which 10% of the weather stations register values above the threshold temperature, corresponding to the 95% percentile of their series of daily maximums for July and August in the period 1971-2000.
