September will be significantly hotter than normal across Spain this year, meteorologists have predicted.
It comes after state weather agency Aemet published its outlook for the next three weeks on Friday.
The service warned that the period from September 7 to 13 will be ‘clearly’ hotter than normal, as temperatures are set to surpass 36C across southern, central and eastern Spain.
The outlook comes after an extraordinary start to September in Andalucia, where temperatures surpassed 45C on Thursday and the Sevilla countryside was briefly placed under the highest red-level heat warning.
The intense conditions are continuing into Friday, with parts of Cordoba province forecast to reach around 42C and the Sevilla countryside around 41C.
Little rain on the horizon
Aemet’s longer-range forecast suggests there will be little widespread rain to provide relief next week.
Precipitation between September 7 and 13 is expected to be generally scarce, largely confined to the far north of mainland Spain and the northern sides of the more mountainous Canary Islands.
Some isolated thunderstorms could develop over inland and mountainous areas, although Aemet does not currently expect them to signal a broader change in the weather pattern.
The agency’s forecast means large areas of Spain are likely to remain significantly warmer than would normally be expected at this stage of the year.
Heat could continue into second half of September
There is greater uncertainty surrounding the following week, from September 14 to 20, as is normal with forecasts looking that far ahead.
Nevertheless, Aemet says the information currently available suggests another unusually warm week is possible across the whole country.
Rainfall during that period is expected to remain below normal across the northern third of Spain, while Aemet says the outlook is less clear elsewhere.
The picture becomes even more uncertain for September 21 to 27, although the current models continue to favour temperatures slightly above their seasonal averages across much of the country.
Southern Spain could see a greater chance of rainfall during that final week, but Aemet stresses that there is not yet a sufficiently clear signal to make firm predictions.
